THURSDAY, AUGUST 26, 1993
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ACTING GOVERNOR VISITS OLD AND NEW PUBLIC HOUSING ESTATES
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THE ACTING GOVERNOR, SIR DAVID FORD, MADE A SWEEPING VISIT SOUTHERN DISTRICT THIS (THURSDAY) AFTERNOON TO LOOK AT DIFFERENT TYPES OF PUBLIC HOUSING IN THE AREA THOSE UNDER CONSTRUCTION THOSE THAT HAVE BEEN HOMES FOR TENANTS FOR MORE THAN 25 YEARS,
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ON THE CONSTRUCTION SITE AT THE TOP OF MA HANG VALLEY WHERE THE HOUSING AUTHORITY IS BUILDING UNDER PHASE I SIX BLOCKS FOUR RENTAL WITH 660 UNITS AND TWO HOME OWNERSHIP SCHEME BLOCKS WITH 360 UNITS SIR DAVID WAS TOLD THAT ON COMPLETION LATER THIS YEAR, MORE THAN 3,600 CLEAREES FROM THE ADJACENT SQUATTER AREA WOULD BE RELOCATED TO THESE FLATS, BUILT TO THE LATEST HARMONY DESIGNS.
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CHIEF ARCHITECT, MISS PENNY WARD, EXPLAINED THAT IN DESIGNING THE NEW ESTATE WHICH TAKES UP A PICTURESQUE CORNER OF STANLEY AND CHUNG HOM KOK THE HOUSING DEPARTMENT HAD TO INTEGRATE THE HEIGHT THE BLOCKS INTO THE SURROUNDING ENVIRONMENT.
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ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF HOUSING (SQUATTER CONTROL AND CLEARANCE) MR PETER YIP, ALSO TOLD SIR DAVID THAT WITH THE CLEARANCE OF THE MAJORITY OF SQUATTERS FROM THE SECOND AND THIRD PHASE, PART OF THE SITE WOULD BE USED TO PROVIDE ANOTHER FIVE NON-STANDARD HARMONY DOMESTIC BLOCKS FOR ANOTHER 4,400 PEOPLE.
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THE REMAINING SITE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE VALLEY INCORPORATE A VILLAGE SQUARE THAT WOULD INCLUDE A SHOPPING CENTRE, CAR PARK BUILDING, AN ESTATE MANAGEMENT OFFICE, THE RECONSTRUCTION THE OLD MURRAY HOUSE AND A WATERFRONT PARK.
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THE ACTING GOVERNOR WAS PLEASED TO LEARN THAT EFFORTS WOULD MADE TO PRESERVE MA HANG'S SPECIAL CHARACTERISTICS, WITH THE EXISTING TEMPLES AND THE FOOTPATH PATTERN PRESERVED AS FAR AS POSSIBLE.
AFTER SEEING A NUMBER OF SAMPLE FLATS OF DIFFERENT SIZES AND TOURING THE LANDSCAPED CHINESE GARDEN BETWEEN THE BLOCKS, SIR DAVID LEFT FOR AN OLDER ESTATE IN THE DISTRICT.
BUILT BETWEEN 1966 AND 1968, THE SIX MARK IV BLOCKS OF SHEK PAI WAN NOW HOUSE ABOUT 12,400 PEOPLE. AND FROM THE ROOF OF ONE OF THE BLOCKS SIR DAVID HAD A PANORAMIC VIEW OF THE EXTENSIVE HOUSING DEVELOPMENT THAT HAD SPRUNG UP AROUND ABERDEEN HARBOUR,
SIR DAVID THEN VISITED THE NEARBY YUE KWONG CHUEN WHICH WAS BUILT BY THE HOUSING SOCIETY IN THE 1960's.
HE WAS BRIEFED BY THE ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF HOUSING SOCIETY ( ESTATE MANAGEMENT), MRS JULIA WONG, THAT THE ESTATE COMPRISED FIVE BLOCKS, WITH THE FIRST ONE COMPLETED IN DECEMBER 1962. THE ESTATE HOUSES A POPULATION OF 4,614.
ACCOMPANIED BY MRS WONG, HE VISITED A FAMILY IN ONE OF THE BLOCKS, HOY KONG LAU. HE WAS TOLD THAT THIS BUILDING, ORIGINALLY DESIGNED WITH COMMUNAL KITCHEN AND TOILET FACILITIES, HAD BEEN CONVERTED TO SELF-CONTAINED UNITS SINCE 1984.
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