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WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 5, 1983
HE SAID THAT ABOUT 300 000 OUT OF HALF A MILLION PEOPLE LIVING IN MARK I AND II BLOCKS HAVE SINCE BENE ITED FROM THE REDEVELOPMENT AND IMPROVEMENT PROGRAMMES.
THESE PROGRAMMES, HE EXPLAINED, WERE TO BE STEPPED UP SO THAT BY 1990 ALL THE REMAINING MARK I AND II ESTATES WOULD HAVE BEEN REDEVELOPED OR SUBSTANTIALLY IMPROVED.
ON CARE FOR THE ELDERLY, SIR EDWARD SAID THE HOUSING AUTHORITY HAS RESERVED 800 PUBLIC HOUSING FLATS TO ENSURE THAT NO ELIGIBLE APPLICANT OVER THE AGE OF 60 SHOULD NEED TO WAIT FOR MORE THAN TWO YEARS FOR PUBLIC HOUSING.
+EVERY NEW ESTATE ALSO NOW INCORPORATES A HOSTEL FOR THE ELDERLY, MANAGED BY ONE OF THE VOLUNTARY AGENCIES, HE SAID.
SIR EDWARD ALSO SAID THAT SINCE THE HOME OWNERSHIP SCHEME STARTED IN 1978, ABOUT 27 000 FLATS HAD BEEN SOLD TO FAMILIES WHO WOULD OTHERWISE HAVE BEEN UNABLE TO BUY THEIR OWN HOMES.
EVERY SALE, HE SAID, HAD BEEN HEAVILY OVERSUBSCRIBED AND, TO MEET THIS DEMAND, THE HOUSING AUTHORITY HAS DECIDED THAT IN 1984-85 AN ADDITIONAL 5 000 FLATS WOULD BE OFFERED FOR SALE.
+THE BASIC DESIGN OF THE FLATS NOW BEING BUILT BY THE HOUSING AUTHORITY MAKES THEM SUITABLE FOR EITHER RENT OR FOR SALE, SO THAT, AS CIRCUMSTANCES DEMAND, THE BALANCE BETWEEN THE PROPORTIONS OF PUBLIC SECTOR HOUSING OFFERED FOR RENT AND FOR SALE CAN READILY BE ADJUSTED, HE SAID.
1.E HOUSING SOCIETY, ALSO PROVIDING LOW-COST HOUSING FOR RENT AND FOR SALE, LAST YEAR COMPLETED ITS LARGEST ESTATE AT JAT MIN CHUEN, SHA TIN, BRINGING TO ALMOST 30 000 THE NUMBER OF FLATS MANAGED BY THE SOCIETY, HE SAID.
SIR EDWARD ALSO SAID THAT THE SOCIETY WAS INVOLVED IN URBAN RENEWAL, SUCH AS THE RECENTLY COMPLETED WESTERN GARDEN URBAN IMPROVEMENT SCHEME, AND IN THE RURAL HOUSING SCHEME AT SAI KUNG WHICH SHOULD BE COMPLETED IN 1985.
ON SQUATTERS, SIR EDWARD SAID THE AMBITIOUS HOUSING PROGRAMMES SHOULD RESULT IN A STEADY REDUCTION IN THE NUMBERS WHO LIVE IN UNSATISFACTORY TEMPORARY ACCOMMODATION.
HE SAID THAT MORE THAN 34 000 FAMILIES HAD BEEN REHOUSED FROM SQUATTER HUTS DURING THE LAST FOUR YEARS.
THE LATEST CENSUS SHOWED THAT ABOUT 100 000 FAMILIES STILL LIVED IN TEMPORARY HUTS BUT ABOUT HALF OF THESE FAMILIES WOULD BE REHOUSED OVER THE NEXT FIVE YEARS AND, DURING THE SAME PERIOD, A NEW PROGRAMME TO IMPROVE SAFETY, SANITATION AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS IN SQUATTER AREAS SHOULD BENEFIT MOST OF THE REMAINING FAMILIES.