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MR. BLAKER: -Mr. Chairman, will the survey of hawkers in the urban areas to be undertaken by the hawker liaison staff including research into the question as to the number of sites that might be considered desirable for hawker bazaars, for which purpose I suggest the City District Officers' advice could be useful?
MR. CHEONG-LEEN: -Mr. Chairman, I think this is a good suggestion. It is already being done since April when a number of Councillors did visit the Kwun Tong district and discussed, on the spot with the City District Officer there, the possibility of the City District Offices carrying out local surveys of available sites for hawker bazaars. When the suggestions have been collated and channelled through the Department, then we will try to co-ordinate availability of such sites with the Public Works Department.
MR. BLAKER: -Mr. Chairman, one further question. It seems to me that there is a slight contradiction in Mr. CHEONG-LEEN's reply. He says that the 1969 Policy stated that resumption of land on a large scale would not be accepted. I take this to mean resumption of private land. He goes on to say that in practice it will be necessary to use land for hawker bazaars. Am I correct in believing that the restriction on resumption does not mean that land will not be provided from Government's own sources. Is my understanding correct that, as Mr. CHEONG-LEEN goes on to say, if land is needed from Government's own sources, it will be made available for bazaars, since without such land it seems to me our whole policy will have great difficulty in moving forward?
MR. CHEONG-LEEN: -Mr. Chairman, Mr. BLAKER is quite correct in saying that it will virtually be impossible to resume private land in the near future. On the other hand, I understand that all the Government departments, particularly the Public Works Department, have been urged by the Colonial Secretariat to give priority to the provision of public land as and where available for the siting of hawker bazaars. Now, Mr. BLAKER is aware, Mr. Chairman, of the competing needs for public land in the various urban areas for purposes of schools, parks and other equally important necessities, and while we do everything we can to gain priority for whatever other public land there is available in each district, we are competing very strongly with other Select Committees, such as Mr. SALES' Amenities Select Committee. However, we do have a working arrangement with Mr. SALES, and I do believe that wherever we can find space available and we can make up a good case for it, we will get that land. But let us make no mistake about it, Mr. Chairman, there will never be enough land in the foreseeable future to contain all the hawkers legal and illegal who are operating now.
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MR. SALES: -Mr. Chairman, are you able to confirm the statement made by Mr. CHEONG-LEEN that Government has given instructions to the relevant Departments that priority be given to hawker bazaars where land is available?
CHAIRMAN: -I can confirm that, Mr. SALES.
MR. SALES: -Against all other claims?
CHAIRMAN: -Priority is to be given to the hawker requirements.
MR. SALES: Against all other claims, housing, recreation, museum, etc.?
CHAIRMAN: -At the moment and until the hawker problem is solved, I would say "yes", but the sites we are looking for are probably not suitable for housing estates and such like.
MR. SALES: -Mr. Chairman, would you have a written statement from the Government and table that statement at the next meeting of the Committee of the Whole Council for further discussion, because that is a position that may not be acceptable to other Select Committees, particularly those involved in public housing.
CHAIRMAN: -I do not think public housing need worry, Mr. SALES, but I shall try to clarify the situation for you.
MR. FORSGATE: -Mr. Chairman, is resumption of private land not a good thing to consider, because this might be an eminently desirable public purpose to be considered?
CHAIRMAN: -You will see, Mr. FORSGATE, that it is large scale resumption that is impractical. If there were little bits of land which were suitable for our purpose and available, then probably, or possibly, resumption could be embarked upon. Large scale resumption, no.
MR. SALES: -Mr. Chairman, in the hawker bazaars, to which my friend has referred in his reply and where stalls are available for hawkers, is this Council right in assuming that a reasonable charge would be made for them in the same way as market stalls carrying a charge according to location and commodity?
MR. CHEONG-LEEN: -Mr. Chairman, I can assure Mr. SALES that this subject has been very actively looked into by the Department, and I might also mention that the question of gaining additional income from so-called pedlar hawkers who have virtually become fixed pitch hawkers is also being considered by the Hawker Policy Select Committee. I would also add, to allay some of Mr. SALES' fears about public land being handed over on a large scale for the purpose of setting up hawker bazaars, that he need have no worry that this will happen, because there really is not all that much open land available in the urban areas.
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