to be empowered to prohibit the start of works which were likely to endanger not only adjoining or nearby property but the lives of the occupants, and of passers-by.
3.11. Accordingly on 4th September, 1964, the Buildings (Amendment) (No. 2) Ordinance, 1964 became law and, briefly, gave the Building Authority powers to:
(a) Prohibit absolutely building works which could not be undertaken without endangering the stability of other buildings (e.g. demolition in the centre of a row of old and dilapidated buildings).
(b) Impose conditions as to the support, by shoring, of buildings likely to be affected by any of the stages of re-development (e.g. demolition, piling, excavation, etc.), as a pre-requisite to allowing such work to commence.
(c) Authorize developers, through their architects, to obtain entry to buildings likely to be affected, for the purpose of erecting shoring. These latter powers have since proved inadequate, and proposals for providing a speedier and more simple procedure are now under consideration.
3.12. The immediate effects of this Ordinance were two-fold. On the credit side, in the period 4th September, 1964 to 31st March, 1965, the number of Closure Orders dropped to 39 for this 7-month period, and Cease Works Orders were reduced to 32. On the debit side, work was stopped or delayed on nearly 300 sites, causing considerable financial hardship not only to developers, but also to building contractors generally, and piling contractors in particular, since the use of driven piles, involving heavy vibration, was one of the major causes of damage to buildings adjacent to building sites.
3.13. Whilst it was generally accepted that in order to save lives and property these drastic measures could not be avoided, at the same time, the serious effect of these actions on the real estate business and the building trade was realized. In December, 1964, therefore, the Chief Structural Engineer of the Public Works Department was seconded to this office, to assist in the review of these '300' cases with a view, wherever possible, to allowing work to commence or re-commence where satisfactory precautionary measures, albeit costly, could be taken.
3.14. At the same time, it was realized that these circumstances could not be allowed to continue indefinitely, and accordingly the problem was referred to the Working Party studying Slum Clearance, and added to their terms of reference. In addition, as the professional and technical staff of this office, working as they were under extreme pressure and in very difficult circumstances, were becoming overwhelmed by the amount of inspection work made necessary by the new legislation, 4 of the most experienced Clerks of Works from other sub-departments of the Public
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