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HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
The original proposal made in 1977 was for the Council to provide an indoor games hall, which would be air-conditioned with Central Government funds to make it usable as an auditorium for community and cultural functions. In the process of drawing up the feasibility sketch for the multi-purpose complex (from 1978 to 1981), it became apparent that the requirements of an indoor games hall were incompatible with that of a cultural venue. Consideration was therefore given instead for the provision of two separate facilities - an indoor games hall and a 'district cultural facility' with 450 seats (now restyled 'community arts centre'). However, the processing of the cultural facility project was held up pending a detailed study by the Eastern District Management Committee on a proposal to build a cultural centre with 1000 seats in Chai Wan. As the original site could not accommodate both a facility of this scale and an indoor games hall, a plan was drawn up in 1983 for the provision of an indoor games hall on a separate site.
In March and April 1984, the Council conducted an overall review of the provision of cultural facilities in the urban areas of Hong Kong. As a general policy, to ensure efficient use of facilities, it was decided that community cultural facilities should be provided on a reasonable geographical spread rather than on a district basis. For the eastern part of Hong Kong Island, the need for a larger cultural centre in Chai Wan was to be examined vis-a-vis that for a community arts centre already planned for the Urban Council at Sai Wan Ho Complex.
The UC/USD analysis of the proposed centre for Chai Wan was completed in April 1985. After a detailed analysis by the Department in consultation with the District Office, it was concluded that Eastern District as a whole could demonstrate a need for a cultural facility but not two.
The Council was fully aware of the current and anticipated developments of the Chai Wan area, including the growth of population, betterment of living standard and improvement to transport facilities. In deciding to provide a community arts centre in the Sai Wan Ho Complex, the Council has taken into account particularly the accessibility of the site and the comparative building and operating costs as well as the likely utilization of such facility. The Council's decision was conveyed to the Eastern District Board in June 1985.
The community arts centre in Sai Wan Ho is now at a very advanced stage of planning. Construction is expected to start in late 1987 and be completed in late 1989. Meanwhile, a temporary cycling ground is being planned on the Chai Wan site. The long-term use of the site will be reviewed in the light of experience of the Sai Wan Ho community arts centre.
As this decision was made after very careful deliberation and consultations, a further review is not considered necessary at this juncture.
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MRS. CHOW CHEUNG WAI-PING (in English):--Mr. Chairman, and as such may I ask why it should take such a long time to resume work at the existing site at Sai Wan Ho?
MR. LAWRENCE H. L. FUNG (in English):—Mr. Chairman, I am not sure what Mrs. CHOW meant. My answer says the site is meanwhile being used as a cycling track, I think we will consider that site in the light of our operating experience of the Sai Wan Ho Complex when it is completed.
MRS. CHOW CHEUNG WAI-PING (in English):—Mr. Chairman, what I meant is that when will it resume work at the Sai Wan Ho site because the site formation has already been done and it has stopped working for quite a long while.
MR. LAWRENCE H. L. FUNG (in English):-Mr. Chairman, the development of this complex was tied in with the commercial development on top of the Mass Transit Station and the commercial development was held up because of the downturn in the Hong Kong economy several years back; that was the reason. It has nothing to do with Government or the MTR. It was purely an economic factor.
MR. FREDERICK K. K. FUNG said (in Cantonese): -Mr. Chairman, I would like to ask question No. 4 under my name, but I have a footnote to add. Personally, I feel that all our pleasure grounds welcome visitors from all nations but now a problem existed and that is why I would like to ask the question under my name. The Council has recently received a number of complaints about the large amount of rubbish such as waste papers, soft drink packages and lunch boxes etc. left in some of the parks in Central during holidays. Does it affect public hygiene and what measures are being taken to deal with the problem?
DR. RONALD D. B. LEUNG, CHAIRMAN OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL HYGIENE SELECT COMMITTEE, replied as follows (in English):—This question, as I understand, is an oblique reference to the large number of Filipino nationals gathering in the Statue Square on holidays. It asks whether rubbish such as waste paper, soft drink packages and lunch boxes left in some of the parks in Central during holidays affects public hygiene and, if so, what measures are being taken to deal with the problem.
In the Central District, there are 65 gazetted pleasure grounds and of these only the Statue Square and its vicinity have been the subject of complaints about large amounts of refuse being left behind during weekends and public holidays. If not removed, large amounts of refuse would indeed present a problem to public health. Consequently, special cleansing arrangements are made for the Statue Square and its surrounds on Sundays and public holidays when the cleansing staff are deployed from 7 in the morning to 10 at night. In addition, a 10-man special cleansing squad comes on duty at 8 o'clock in the evening to continue to work until all refuse is removed.