CO129-627-3 Housing project- contains drawings 1-2-1951 - 31-10-1951 — Page 2

Desp 14

10/2/51

2

Mr. Atkinson.

1.

Now that you have returned from your tour I should

be glad if you would have a look at the extremely interesting and encouraging proposals contained in (1) opposite. In the absence of professional advice on this complicated question the file has been held up for some time and we should, I think, endeavour now to deal with the various points arising as rapidly as possible.

2. To my mind Hong Kong has in (1) "turned up trumps" on this question of housing. They have not as yet had a chance to consider in detail all the points which we raised in our despatch at (10) on 12818/17/50. In fact whilst we were busy thinking out the terms of that despatch Hong Kong were busy thinking out the pilot scheme which has now been put to us in (1) opposite. In the circumstances it is, I think, encouraging that, as the Governor points out in (1) opposite we appear to have reached broadly similar conclusions on the question of the lines which housing development in Hong Kong should take.

3. The Governor accepts our view that the best way of tackling housing in Hong Kong is to set up an Improvement Trust having considerable powers and independence and charged with the task of housing and planning. He does not, however, propose to set this up at once and indeed, as is clear from (10) on 12818/17/50, it was never our intention that he should precipitately set up such a body. In (10) on 12818/17/50 we recommended that pilot schemes should be carried out before large scale development started, mainly I think, with the idea that experience could be gained before the Trust was formally set up; and the Governor's proposals in (1) opposite are for precisely such a pilot scheme. He differs from us in detail however. In paragraph 5(vii) we suggested that an interim committee, which could later develop into the Trust should be given the job of undertaking the pilot schemes; we also recommended that in the early stages at any rate housing and planning should be handled together. The Governor does not quite meet us on this as he proposes that after site develop- ment for the pilot scheme is completed the actual housing work should be turned over to the Hong Kong Housing Society. However, I think he meets us sufficiently. The planning aspects of the pilot scheme have been considered, presumably in the Public Works Department, and it has been ensured that the scheme does not clash with any of Sir P. Abercrombie's suggestions and although Sir Patrick's word is not infallible (in fact too often his schemes have been found to be rather over-idealistic and unrealistic) it is clear that Hong Kong

The actual intend to be guided in general terms by his ideas. design of the flats forming the scheme has also been done in the Public Works Department (by the Acting Chief Architect) with

I think we can the advice of a representative committee. assume that the housing and planning aspects of this scheme have been given sufficiently closely connected consideration.

4. If you agree as to this point then the only remaining query on the scheme submitted in (1) to my mind is the question of the cost of site development. In paragraph 9 of our despatch at (10) on --/50 we recommended that the activities of the Trust, the creation of which we had suggested, should aim at being self-supporting over a specified period of time and, from what I can remember of our discussions at the time the despatch was being prepared, we certainly envisaged the cost of site development as being part of the costs of the Trust and as being therefore part of the costs which the

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