Wednesday, November 29, 1972
LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL A MENDS BUILDINGS BILL
The Legislative Council today decided to delete from the Buildings
(Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 1972 a Clause which provides for the extension from
28 days to 60 days the statutory period within which the Building Authority
can disapprove submitted plans.
Moving an amendment for Clause 6 to be deleted, the Hon. Oswald Cheung
told the Council that the Hong Kong Society of Architects had made representation
that this proposed extension would unnecessarily delay the development of their
clients' sites.
They had requested that the proposal be reconsidered and had urged
that, whilst it might be justified in the case of plans first submitted, it would
generally be too long on a re-submission which corrects faults in the design
which led to places being disapproved, he said.
"My Unofficial colleagues consider that there is a valid case for re-
examining the proposal, and it is for that reason that we would ask that
Clause 6 be deleted,"
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Mr. Cheung said both the Society and Unofficial members greatly sympathised
with the Buildings Ordinance Office for the burden that has been put on it as a
result of both the large number of plans submitted and the rain disasters last
summer.
"I am therefore authorised to say that should the government wish to have
the moratorium extended until March 31, 1973, my colleagues would have no objection
to it," he said.
/Earlier,