Sec. 6/526/49
SAVINGRAM
To the Secretary of State for the Colonies.
Administering the Government
From the Governor, Hong Kong.
ch
Date/5 August 1950...........
No.
880
17
I enclose a copy of a report of the Advisory Committee on Recreation Grounds which was published as Sessional Paper. No. 3 of 1950 and invite your attention to Chapters 2 and 4 of the Report in which it is recommended that certain clubs should be granted 10 or 21 year leases of the grounds which have hither- to been allocated to them.
2. With the concurrence of Executive Council I have accepted these recommendations subject to the following provisos:
(i) The Hong Kong Football Club should be granted a ground
at Causeway Bay on the site of the present vehicle park used by the Military Authorities when it becomes available, rather than a long lease of its existing grounds;
(ii) With reference to the grant of a ground at Causeway
Bay to the Hong Kong Football Club, a condition of the lease should be that the Governor or his designate will stipulate the conditions on which the ground should be made available to other football Clubs or for representative matches and also for big sporting and other events, and that, in the case of the use of the ground for football, that designate should be the Hong Kong Football Association until the Governor otherwise orders;
(iii)
(iv)
similar conditions should be attached to the grant of a ground to the South China Athletic Association.
In cases where a lease of more than one year is granted to any club, a condition of the lease should be that reasonable facilities should be given to schools, in consultation with the Director of Education, to use the ground when it is not required by the club, provided that such use does not interfere with the proper care and maintenance of the ground.
3. I need not enlarge upon the reasons lying behind the recommendations of the Committee which are fully recorded in its Report. The leases granted to certain clubs for 10 or 21 years will, of course, require to be by private treaty and not after public auction. I therefore seek your approval to dispense with public auction in these cases and would welcome an early reply to enable the clubs concerned to carry out their plans for development.
21 AUG 12