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(d) Requisitioned Property.
843 premises of all types are still under requisition. Of these, approximately 600 are European type residential premises, equivalent to space for approximately 2,000 civilians. (e) Codowns.
It is estimated that about 24% of pre-war godown accommodation has been destroyed, or badly damaged. 70 godowns, some of large capacity, estimated at 50% of present total capacity, have been requisitioned.
As in 1940-41, Godown accommodation, especially transit accommodation, is taxed to the full, and demands for storage space for Service and Government stores, food, building materials, commercial cargoes and other goods have already become difficult to meet. Many of the requisitioned Godowns which are occupied by the Custodian of Property are now being released, and when this is completed, the situation will improve. (f) Tenements.
The Committee have not lost sight of the importance of improving housing condi- tions for the working classes. They feel that the extensive destruction of Chinese tenement properties wrought by bombing and looting in such areas as Hung Hom, West Point, and Wanchai, and the necessity of rebuilding in such areas, provides a unique opportunity to enforce an improved standard of housing for the Chinese labouring class.
The urgent necessity of producing a report on building reconstruction as a guide as to how the immediate problem of re-housing the returning population can be dealt with, has prevented the Committee from studying the larger, long-term policy of town planning in detail. They have, however, considered the " Report of the Housing Commission, 1935," signed on 11th October, 1938, and particularly the Memorandum by Mr. W. H. Owen, B.SC. TECH., A.R.I.B.A., A.M.T.P.I., attached thereto as Appendix II. This Report contains a number of excellent suggestions, which apply even more forcibly under post- war conditions.
7.
III. CONCLUSIONS.
The Committee have arrived at the following conclusions:-
Shortage of Accommodation.
(i) The shortage of accommodation of all kinds grows more acute every day with
the steady increase in the population of the Colony.
(ii) The greatest shortage is in residential accommodation of the non-Chinese
type. (Appendix 2, section 4).
(iii) Residential property housing about 7,000 of the 10,000 non-Chinese civilians who are expected to be here by the end of this year has been damaged or destroyed. (Page 7, section 6 (a)). An appreciable part of the remaining accommodation is now taken up in housing people who were not previously resident in the Colony. (Interim Report, page 8, section 6 (d), and Appendix 4, paragraph 1).
(iv) Some 160,000 Chinese have been displaced by war damage (Page 7, section 6(a)), and others by requisitioning (Page 8, section (d) ), and with a rapidly increasing population the congestion is becoming worse.
(v) Accommodation for the Services has also been materially reduced below the
requirements. (Page 7, section 6 (b)).
(vi) There is little prospect of adequate new buildings being erected to meet Service requirements within the twelve months period considered by the Committee, but there may be some improvement in the situation due to the erection of hutting.
(vii) Requisitioning by the Services is therefore necessary; de-requisitioning, being merely a change in status of persons housed, will not in itself produce additional accommodation.
(viii) Unless much rebuilding is done soon, the accommodation problem will
become critical for all sections of the community.
Shortage of Building Materials.
(ix) The most important single factor in the building reconstruction of the Colony is the provision of building materials in adequate quantity and at reasonable market prices. (Appendix 2, section 7 (c) (ii) ).
(x) To achieve this end a special organisation staffed with personnel with experience of purchasing and handling building and civil engineering stores should be set up. (Appendix 14, section 3 (b) ).
(xi) It is unlikely that the quantity of materials which, under the best condi- tions, can be imported into the Colony during 1946 will enable new construction to be undertaken on any but the smallest scale. (Appendix 13, section 9).
(xii) Due to shortage of certain critical materials, especially timber, glass, plumbing and sanitary fittings, a control by Government is necessary to prevent their diversion to non-essential uses. (Appendix 14, section 4).
(xiii) Local production of building materials should be encouraged and assisted.
(Appendix 10).
Shortage of Qualified Personnel.
(xiv) The existing resources of the Colony in qualified technical, architectural and civil engineering personnel, both in the Government and in private practice, are inadequate to undertake the reconstruction programme envisaged, and no opportunity of increasing them should be neglected. (Appendix 13, section 10). In this connection Government should arrange priority passages back to the Colony both for Government officials and members of private firms.
Shortage of Transport.
(x) There is a serious shortage of vehicles needed for the transportation of per-
sonnel and materials.
Housing Finance.
(xvi) Except by the Administration. little reconstruction work has been under- taken, owing chiefly to the high cost of materials and labour, and the Rents Ordinance which prevents property-owners from increasing rents although building costs have risen very considerably.
(xvii) The present high cost of building is due to-
(a) Shortage of materials.
(b) High wages for labour.
The remedy lies in the importation of building materials in adequate quantities and reduction in the cost of living.
(viii) The lifting of rent restrictive legislation at the present time would increase the high cost of living and aggravate the existing tendency towards inflation. (Appendix 10).
(xix) The majority of property-owners will not undertake repair or rebuilding work so long as costs of materials and labour remain high, unless Government assistance in the form of a subsidy is granted to them.
(xx) Finance alone, without the immediate prospect of obtaining materials, would be insufficient. "Easy" money combined with lack of materials would push prices up and the tendency towards general inflation would become marked. (Appendix 10).
(xx) The cost of reconstruction should be borne by the community as a whole
and not only by the owners of damaged and destroyed property.
(xxii) In order to spread the cost over a period of years, any subsidy should be repaid out of taxation, but care must be taken that the cost does not fall on the poorer classes.
(xxiii) European type accommodation has suffered proportionately far more damage than Chinese type accommodation. A subsidy is advocated, but if the cost is to be borne by the community as a whole, great care must be exercised in the apportioning of the subsidy to avoid discrimination between the different classes of the population.
(xxiv) The problem is urgent; speedy decision and action are vital.
8.
IV. RECOMMENDATIONS.
In view of the foregoing conclusions the Committee recommend-
(i) That adequate building materials be purchased and imported by Government without delay. The importation of transport and building materials of all descriptions is of paramount importance.
No time should be lost in acquiring as much as possible of the surplus stocks of the Australian and U.S. Forces in the Pacific, and the necessary financial facilities should be afforded.
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