CO129-627-3 Housing project- contains drawings 1-2-1951 - 31-10-1951 — Page 41

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The loan from Government required to meet construction costs will be made in the first, instance to this Society, but the Society's assets and liabilities will in due course be taken over by the Improvement Trust referred to above by whom repayment of the loan will be completed.

This project is intended as a "Pilot Scheme" which will enable any flaws that may come to light to be corrected before proceeding with the full scheme outlined in the despatch accompanying this memorandum.

The housing which will be built for the lower-income groups will not only provide improved living conditions for the actual tenants, but will indirectly benefit others by relieving congestion elsewhere and may be expected to encourage employers to embark on similar schemes for their employees.

(b) Relation of the Scheme to the Colony's Ten-Year

Development Plan.

Due to constantly changing conditions since the war no Ten-Year Development Plan has been drawn up for Hong Kong, but the relation of this scheme to Government's proposals for a housing programme are explained in paragraph (a) above, and in the covering despatch.

(c)

Reasons for financing the scheme in part from the Colonial Development & Welfare Vote.

Although in this particular instance the cost of site formation is relatively low, only $216,000 in all, it is not expected that these charges will constitute such a small proportion of the capital outlay in future owing to the extreme shortage of building sites which are inexpensive to develop in localities where housing of this type is most needed. If the rents of these and similar flats constructed in the future are to be kept at an economic level, it is essential that site formation and development should not be a charge on the properties. It is also important that the rents for different blocks of similar accommodation should be uniform. This can be achieved without the need for one group of flats carrying part of the over-heads of another if the initial expenditure on site development does not enter into the capital outlay to be met by a loan from this Government.

(a) The basis for the division of cost between local funds

and the Colonial Development & Welfare Vote

is as indicated in paragraph (c) above: site formation, access roads and the installation of water and drainage to be charged to a Colonial Development & Welfare grant, other costs to be borne initially by the Housing Society and in due course by the Improvement Trust, from funds loaned by Government.

(e) Staff, materials, and labour

(f)

are all available locally.

Arrangements for the execution and supervision of work. Expenditure of the Colonial Development and Welfare grant will be in the hands of the Public Works Department employing