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# HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
## ADDRESS BY CHAIRMAN.
Before we proceed with the business on the agenda, may I extend to all Members my best wishes for good health, prosperity and happiness in the New Year.
I am sure that Members will wish me to express our warm congratulations to Mr. Li Yiu-bor on his appointment by Her Majesty the Queen as an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the New Year Honours List.
MR. A. de O. SALES: Sir, before you proceed with the next item, may I say that the Appointed Members join with you in the congratulations which you offer to Mr. Li Yiu-bor, and we heartily reciprocate your good wishes for the New Year.
May I also say that yesterday, in your capacity as Chairman of the Urban Council, you made a remarkable speech*. I would like to suggest that the text of that speech be made available to both Official and Unofficial Members, who share certain sentiments you expressed concerning the Hong Kong Government with which the Urban Council will no doubt wish to be associated in public.
MR. K. A. WATSON:—Mr. Chairman, may I support Mr. SALES in all that he has said. Perhaps it was due to an excess of aquavit, but I cannot remember anything about your speech. (Laughter).
CHAIRMAN: My recollection is that you were not present. You left before the speech.
MR. WATSON: That accounts for it!
(Laughter).
CHAIRMAN: Regarding the point by Mr. SALES, I should say that I was not expressing my own sentiments but my suspicions of what is lurking in the minds of Urban Councillors.
MR. SALES: We will decide that later, but in the interval will you please express to Government that the Unofficial Urban Councillors heartily endorse your suspicions. (Laughter).
## MINUTES.
The Minutes of the meeting of the Council held on 15th December, 1964 were confirmed.
## PAPERS.
THE CHAIRMAN laid upon the table the following paper:
Report on the work of the Urban Council and Urban Services Department for the month of December 1964.
* At a luncheon given in honour of the Lord Mayor of Copenhagen.
# HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
## QUESTIONS.
(1) DR. P. F. Woo asked the following question :-
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(a) If a settler in the Resettlement Estates is allocated a shop space, is this settler allowed to do any kind of legal trade he wishes, or must he first consult or obtain permission from the Resettlement Department before he can carry on that particular trade?
(b) If a settler is allocated two bays, is there any objection to his setting up a food establishment there?
THE COMMISSIONER for RESETTLEMENT replied as follows:-
Before balloting for shop or workshop premises, a prospective tenant is required to sign a document in Chinese whereby he agrees to observe the conditions of tenancy and any licensing conditions of the Urban Council or of other Government departments. In this document he specifies the nature of the business which he proposes to operate and undertakes not to change it without prior approval.
In the case of all normal shop trades there is no restriction on the type of business which may be carried on. There are, however, restrictions on the opening of restaurants, cafés and fresh food shops to which I shall refer in a moment. Where workshops are concerned, the only limitation is that the trade must be one of those on an approved list drawn up in consultation with the Labour and Fire Services Departments. The purpose of this list is to exclude trades that infringe safety or health requirements. The list is reviewed from time to time, and the departments concerned are consulted when a new trade comes to light.
I presume that the second part of the question refers to restaurants, cafés and meat and fish shops. If a tenant is allocated a two bay shop in a Mark I or II estate, the department would not normally object to his opening a general or light refreshment restaurant provided the appropriate licence is obtained. Permission to open a new meat or fish shop would only be given if there is need for one in the locality concerned and if it is not likely to cause a hawker problem.
In Mark III and IV estates, there is less flexibility about opening restaurants and meat and fish shops since the sites for these are predetermined. All restaurant premises are uniform in size and have a built-in flue. Permission for a general restaurant to be opened elsewhere would not
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