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suggest that it is more difficult today than ever before. No doubt this is largely due to the economic circumstances of the Colony; but possibly it may also be due to the tendency of recent years to allow the principal which I enunciated first to predominate to the detriment of the second. There is no doubt that widespread obstruction and sanitary nuisances are at present being caused by hawkers in many places, and it is necessary to take firm measures to prevent the position from deteriorating further. The Urban Services Department, however, has not sufficient staff to tackle this very large task by itself; we can only achieve improvements with the assistance of the Police Force. I am very glad, therefore, to be able to announce the setting-up of a combined Police/Urban Services Department liaison team to re-survey hawker problems on the ground. The team consists on the Police side of two Police Inspectors and on our side of a chief health inspector, two senior health inspectors and an assistant secretary. As the new organization is described in the progress report for April, laid upon the table today, I will not go into further details now. These organizational changes themselves are of course no more than a first step; but I believe it is a step in the right direction and one that will, I hope, pave the way for the introduction in due course of more realistic and effective measures for the control of hawkers.
There were a number of references last month to parks and playgrounds, and I feel the position is best summed up by Mr. Li Yiu Bor's statement that this Council has already formulated a large development scheme. What remains for us to do, and it certainly will not be easy, is to see that the scheme is implemented without delay in the coming year. We have a programme for spending about $900,000 on rest gardens, parks and playgrounds, in addition to $350,000 for playgrounds at Li Cheng Uk and Blake Gardens. Further improvements at Victoria Park including the swimming pool will cost over $1 million. This makes a total of well over $2 million on parks, playgrounds and urban amenities during the coming year, and I for one shall be most gratified if we are able to complete the programme; it is certainly bigger than anything we have tackled before.
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I am grateful for Mr. Chan Shu Woon's suggestion that libraries be built over covered playgrounds. It so happens that this suggestion is similar to one already made by the Children's Playground Association; and as this Association has experience in running playgrounds and would probably be able to operate these libraries, I feel that Council should wait for their detailed proposals before proceeding further with Mr. Chan's suggestion.
As to the improvement of lighting in parks and gardens, this is being done as part of the general street lighting programme for the urban area. In Kowloon this programme is up to date and it is not anticipated that there will be much delay in installing lighting in the Kowloon parks. Unfortunately our most urgent priorities are in Hong Kong and here the street lighting programme is behindhand, and this must affect parks as well as streets. However, lighting at Victoria Park will probably be complete in a few months.
I hope also that the Li Cheng Uk tomb, to which one member referred, together with the museum and rest garden, will be open to the public in the very near future.
Mr. Fung Ping Fan mentioned two particular areas for development as parks and playgrounds. The land opposite Moreton Terrace in Causeway Bay, now temporarily occupied by the Military authorities, is still scheduled for recreation; but its use when eventually vacated will have to be considered in the light of the development of Causeway Bay, where we already have Victoria Park, and in the light of demands for sites for schools, and other purposes. I think it may be premature as yet to take any final decision on the use of this site.
Mr. Fung also mentioned the foot of Shouson Hill in Aberdeen. This is already reserved for recreational purposes. In addition there are proposals to develop land for pool grounds and private clubs in the Staunton Creek area; in fact the areas at present scheduled for recreation in the Aberdeen district may prove to be in excess of demand.
However, despite the heavy development programme for the current year, suggestions for new areas are always welcome for the purpose of planning the programmes for future years.
While on the subject of urban amenities, I would like to add that I am sure that my friend the Chairman of the Bathing Beaches and Swimming Pools Select Committee would be glad
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