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Nevertheless, it has also been put to the Administration that in cases where developers have worthwhile projects, they should be able to approach the LDC to implement them on a joint venture basis. If this idea is found to be agreeable, the Administration may wish to consider setting some criteria, in conjunction with the LDC Board, on the type of scheme which would be suitable. These criteria would include the level of housing production and community benefits arising from the scheme. All the rules which apply to the LDC's other schemes can continue to be applied to such joint ventures and the developer would be expected to fund the LDC's acquisition efforts and relocation package.
The Administration can also consider ways to speed up LDC projects by, for example, setting up a special team to undertake resumption work in support of its schemes. Of course, there will continue to be checks and controls to protect the rights of the affected owners. Indeed we are looking at tightening these up by making greater use of an existing provision under the LDC Ordinance to employ independent valuers to verify that the LDC's offers in purchasing properties are fair and reasonable.
Participation by property owners in individual redevelopment projects is another possible solution to the site assembly problem. The LDC has already experimented with this approach but it has proved much harder to implement in practice than it sounds in theory. It is extremely difficult to persuade a large number of individual property owners to redevelop and to get them to agree on the terms on which this should be done, especially regarding the financial arrangements. Also, we should not lose sight of the fact that redevelopment projects face certain financial risks and smaller property owners might not wish to invest the value of their homes and businesses in such projects. Nevertheless, we believe owner participation has a role to play particularly where there are larger owners with properties which are capable of separate redevelopment. Inviting such owners to participate in projects will reduce the need for resumption, and simplify the acquisition process.
The next problem is the relocation and rehousing of tenants as opposed to owners. Experience has shown that it would be necessary to cater for both domestic and commercial tenants.
Looking at domestic tenants first, the experience of the LDC is that some tenants are willing to accept cash compensation for the disruption involved in relocating to other private rental property. There are therefore merits in continuing with the option of cash compensation. But we also recognise that the ability to rehouse tenants is a major factor in the success or otherwise of urban renewal projects. Indeed, the supply of rehousing flats is a major constraint on the LDC's operations.