(d) Medical
New Kowloon Mortuary Sai Ying Pun Clinic
New Taipo Clinic
(e) Police
Police Post at Silvermine Bay
Messrs. Chau & Lee
Messrs. Leigh & Orange Messrs. Spence, Robinson & Partners
Mr. W. H. Kwan
BUILDINGS ORDINANCE OFFICE
Chief Building Surveyor, R. Fairbairn, A.R.I.C.S.
103. On the 1st June the new Regulations (made under the Buildings Ordinance 1955) controlling building development came into force. These new Regulations very greatly increase the scope given to Architects not only in the planning of their buildings, but also in the height to which they can design them. Where under former Buildings Ordinances the height of the buildings was limited to either the width of the street or 11 times the width of the street (according to whether the lease of the land was pre or post 1903) on which it fronted, by the new Regulations this basic height has been increased to twice the width of the street on which the building fronts, regardless of the date of lease of the lot.
104. Developers have been very quick to take advantage of these increased facilities—in fact, by the speed with which plans were submitted after the 1st June, it is evident that in a great many cases development proposals had already been prepared in anticipation of the coming into force of the new Regulations. The result has been that since that time there has been an ever-increasing stream of development proposals reaching the Buildings Ordinance Office, the majority of which, especially in those parts of the Colony where land values are very high, have taken full advantage of the new Regulations, and buildings of 15 or more storeys are now becoming commonplace. Prior to June, such high buildings were exceptional.
105. As has been mentioned in previous reports, the gradual redevelopment of the city of Victoria and also of the Kowloon Point area has continued unabated, and it would appear that, in a relatively few years' time, the old type of spacious buildings with 3, 4, or 5 storeys and massive verandah columns on the pavement will have virtually disappeared and have been replaced by very tall buildings of modern design, with reduced storey heights.
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