XN000022-1976-05-21 — Page 11

FRIDAY, MAY 21, 1976

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BALANCED DEVELOPMENT IN NEW TOWNS

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BALANCED DEVELOPMENT IS THE GOVERNMENT'S AIM IN BUILDING THE THREE NEW TOWNS OF TSUEN WAN, TUEN MUN AND SHA TIN, MR. BARRIE WIGGHAM, DEPUTY SECRETARY FOR THE NEW TERRITORIES, SAID TODAY.

HE WAS SPEAKING AT THE LUNCHEON MEETING OF THE HONG KONG BRANCH OF THE ROYAL INSTITUTION OF CHARTERED SURVEYORS,

MR. WIGGHAM SAID THAT THE AIM WAS TO PROVIDE THE NEW TOWNS WITH THE RIGHT NUMBER OF SCHOOLS, THE RIGHT NUMBER OF HOSPITAL BEDS, THE PROPER AMOUNT OF OPEN SPACE AND RECREATION AREA, ENOUGH POLICEMEN ON THE BEAT, FIRE SERVICES COVER AND SO ON TO SERVE THE GROWING POPULATION.

+BUT EVEN ON THE ASSUMPTION THAT ALL THE FACILITIES PLANNED WILL ACTUALLY MATERIALISE ON TIME, HE CONTINUED, THESE

+ FACILITIES WILL NOT BEAR FRUIT UNLESS WE ENSURE THAT THE APPROPRIATE COMMUNITY SERVICES ARE PROVIDED IN STEP WITH THE PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT- AND ENSURE ALSO THAT THE COMMUNITY FOR WHOM THESE SERVICES ARE PROVIDED ARE AWARE OF THEMSELVES AND OF THEIR NEW OPPORTUNITIES.+

MR. WIGGHAM SAID THAT, WHEN NEW TOWNS WERE BUILT ELSEWHERE THE AUTHORITIES ENJOYED THE LUXURY OF BEING ABLE TO CHOOSE VIRGIN TERRITORY SO AS TO AVOID EXISTING DEVELOPMENT AND POPULATION. THIS WAS JUST NOT POSSIBLE IN HONG KONG.

HE POINTED OUT THAT THE POPULATION OF TSUEN WAN WOULD GROW BY HALF A MILLION TO ONE MILLION= THE POPULATIONS OF TUEN MUN AND SHA TIN WOULD BE BUILT UP FROM THE IR PRESENT 30,000 - 40,000 TO SOME HALF A MILLION EACH.

+THESE ARE STAGGERING FIGURES,+ HE SAID. +THEY ARE THE EQUIVALENT IN UNITED KINGDOM TERMS OF LEEDS. MANCHESTER AND SHEFFIELD OR, IN THE CASE OF TSUEN WAN WITH ITS FUTURE POPULATION OF 1,000,000, SOMETHING LIKE THE SIZE OF GLASGOW OR BIRMINGHAM,

+NEW TOWNS HAVE BEEN BUILT IN BRITAIN AND ELSEWHERE, OF COURSE, BUT NOTHING ON THE SAME SCALE AS WE ARE CONTEMPLATING HERE: EACH TIME WE OPEN ONE OF OUR NEWER GENERATION PUBLIC HOUSING ESTATES IN HONG KONG WITH A POPULATION OF 30,000 IT'S THE EQUIVALENT OF THE AVERAGE UNITED KINGDOM TOWN.+

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40,000,

HE SAID THAT A DELIBERATE POLICY OF DECENTRALISATION ON THIS SCALE MEANT THAT WE HAD TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT THESE NEW TOWNS TO MAKE SURE THEY WERE AS WELL EQUIPPED AND ATTRACTIVE AS POSSIBLE, +CERTAINLY MORE SO THAN THE AREAS FROM WHICH OUR FAMILIES ARE BEING UPROOTED.+

TURNING TO THE MANAGEMENT COMMITTEES FOR THE THREE NEW TOWNS, MR. WIGGHAM SAID THEY PROVIDED A GOOD FORUM FOR AN INTERCHANGE OF INFORMATION BETWEEN MEMBERS, AS WELL AS FEED-BACK OF LOCAL KNOWLEDGE AND ADVICE TO DEPARTMENTAL HEADQUARTERS AND PLANNING BRANCHES.