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narrow and that, even if you had so desired, you could not have put on the Order Paper of today's Council meeting any motion whose subject matter was outside the scope of the Urban Council.
Hence it was necessary to give notice of a motion along much more general lines as indicated in today's Order Paper.
Mr. Chairman, members of this Council have no doubt read the 1968 report of the Advisory Committee on Private Recreational Leases. After having read it, I must admit having some misgivings over the recommendation that the Hong Kong Cricket Club should be granted a fresh lease in 1971 for a period of 10 years.
It is to be noted that this recommendation was made despite representations made by the Hon. Y. K. KAN, O.B.E., J.P. who advocated the conversion of the Hong Kong Cricket Club ground into public open space. His view was supported by a letter addressed to the Chairman of the Committee, Sir Albert RODRIGUES, by a member of this Council, Mr. D. J. R. BLAKER.
It is also to be noted that this recommendation was not the result of a unanimous decision by the Committee. Miss Dorothy LEE, the Representative of the Director of Social Welfare, and Mr. J. C. C. WALDEN, in his personal capacity, opposed the recommendation.
The Chairman of the Urban Council's Parks, Recreation and Amenities Select Committee, Mr. A. de O. SALES, who was a member of the Advisory Committee, stated in the Report that he supported the recommendation "only subject to the immediate development by Government of any equivalent area in the ex-naval dockyard for public recreational purposes". As it does not seem possible for Government to immediately develop an equivalent area in the ex-naval dockyard for public recreational purposes, we can only assume that for all practical purposes, Mr. SALES no longer supports the recommendation.
In fact, some of us on this Council are deeply concerned that much of the area planned to be converted into open space in the ex-naval dockyard will not be available for at least another six to eight years.
Therefore, I am very much in favour of the Hong Kong Cricket Club ground being reserved for public open space after the lease expires in 1971. No doubt, the Hong Kong Cricket Club ground has been the home of cricket for many years and it is also the venue for the Open Lawn Tennis championship. Also, the Hong Kong Cricket Club management do at regular intervals make available the grounds for use of school children, charitable bodies and public functions.
Yet the need for the ground to be used as public open space is infinitely much greater. Statue Square as an open space has become
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extremely over-crowded on weekends and holidays. Families from all over Hong Kong Island and Kowloon come to Statue Square on weekends and on public holidays to take pictures and enjoy the attractive amenities provided by the Urban Council.
I cannot agree with the view of the Advisory Committee that with the opening of Statue Square the case of moving the Hong Kong Cricket Club in the public interest has to some extent lost its urgency. On the contrary, because of the attractions of Statue Square there is an even greater interest among families living on the Island, in Kowloon and even in the New Territories to visit Statue Square as well as the City Hall. One argument put forward in the report against converting the Hong Kong Cricket Club ground into public open space is that Government has the intention to provide more public open space to the east, presumably near Police Headquarters, to relieve the shortage of recreational amenities in Wan Chai. I venture to suggest that whatever public open space is being planned by Government for the residents of Wan Chai has nothing to do with the need for more public open space in the Central district.
The City Hall and Statue Square complex has become the "cultural heart" of Hong Kong. We need to expand this "cultural heart" and we can best do so by turning the Cricket Club ground into public open space.
Some of us in the Museum and Art Gallery Select Committee have been having some serious second thoughts as to whether or not the Rodney block will in fact be a suitable building for the new museum and art gallery.
CHAIRMAN: --Mr. CHEONG-LEEN, on a point of order, will you please direct your speech to the question under discussion, that is, the provision of open space?
MR. CHEONG-LEEN: - Mr. Chairman, it's very relevant, may I finish my paragraph?
CHAIRMAN: - I hardly feel the building of museums is relevant to the provision of public open space.
MR. CHEONG-LEEN: - Mr. Chairman, would you care to hear me out, because I shall refer to the Cricket Club ground in a while.
The cost of converting this really very ugly office building into a modern museum and art gallery would cost much more than the original cost of the building, which was constructed at a time when building costs were very high. Personally, I would prefer to see a permanent museum and art gallery building built on the site of the Hong Kong Cricket Club ground. This would be a much more suitable location
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