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HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
QUESTIONS
(1) MR. CHARLES C. C. SIN asked the following question (In English): –
In view of the very limited number of sites available for the construction of hawker bazaars in the urban area and the larger number of hawkers trading in our streets to be resited into these bazaars, can this Council be informed as to why hawker bazaars whether temporary or permanent to be built on sites having an area of 1,500 sq. ft. or above should not be 2 or 3 storeys instead of single storey?
MR. HENRY H. L. HU, CHAIRMAN OF THE HAWKERS SELECT COMMITTEE, replied as follows (In English): –
This question concerns the building of multi-storey hawker bazaars, a question which has been raised a number of times by the Hawkers Select Committee in the past few years. The proposal was, however, rejected in the light of experience gained in the management of multi-storey markets where it was found that there is a general reluctance on the part of both the trades and the clientele to go to any level other than the ground floor level. If hawkers are required to trade on upper floors, it is most probable that the stalls on the upper floors would be used for storage or other purposes with the hawkers hawking illegally in the vicinity of the bazaar. This would then add to the difficulties of control and management of hawkers.
At the same time, the sites of most bazaars are either small or irregular in shape which would result in a decrease of suitable hawking space if staircases and other forms of ingress and egress have to be provided for upper floors. In view of your question, the Hawkers Select Committee will re-consider this question in the near future.
MR. SIN (In English):—Mr. Chairman, may I ask a supplementary? The answer says in the light of experience gained in the management of multi-storey markets that the trade is reluctant to go to any level higher than the ground floor. Is it not a fact that this is due to the presence of illegal hawkers in the vicinity of the market?
MR. HU (In English):—Partly so, but not entirely the case. For example, the Central Market, of course, on the upper floors they do much less business than the ground floor and there are very few hawkers around Central Market, but it is a factor that affects the business of the upper floor.
MR. SIN (In English):—Mr. Chairman, in the second paragraph of the answer, my friend says the sites of most bazaars are either small or irregular. Can we be told what is meant by "small" in terms of square feet in the context of the word "small" in the answer? How many bazaars are over 1,500 and how many under?
CHAIRMAN (In English):—Perhaps Mr. Hu might wish to have notice of that question so that information could be given to you in writing subsequently.
MR. HU (In English):—That is exactly what I wanted to say, Mr. Chairman. (Laughter).
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HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
71
(2) MR. LO TAK-SHING asked the following question (In English):—
Where the Council arranges for a beach area to be gazetted...
(a) What steps are taken to protect the interest of a private owner of property adjacent thereto and in particular where a part of the gazetted area is not a beach but the foreshore between a private dwelling and the sea what efforts are made by the Council to ensure that users of barbecue pits and the like do not leave rubbish behind and do not disturb the owner of the private dwelling late at night, and
(b) is it possible to de-gazette areas, the use of which by members of the public cannot be properly controlled?
MR. KENNETH T. C. LO, CHAIRMAN OF THE RECREATION AND AMENITIES SELECT COMMITTEE, replied as follows (In English):—
The Urban Council is keen to provide many varied facilities to the public on all gazetted beaches.
With the increased emphasis on full use of leisure time, beaches are becoming increasingly popular and barbecuing is a pastime which many young people enjoy. This is something which the Urban Council has recognized and rocky areas of the foreshore lying behind many beaches have been set aside as barbecue sites with proper pits and...
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