XN000022-1985-08-09 — Page 5

FRIDAY, AUGUST 9, 1985

RSD FEES, HIRE CHARGES TO GO UP

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THE PROVISIONAL REGIONAL COUNCIL TODAY (FRIDAY) ENDORSED THE REGIONAL SERVICES DEPARTMENT'S PROPOSED REVISION OF FEES CHARGED FOR THE USE OF RECREATIONAL FACILITIES IN NON-URBAN AREAS.

THE REVISION, WHICH WOULD LATER BE PUT TO THE GOVERNOR-IN- COUNCIL FOR FINAL APPROVAL. WOULD AFFECT THE ADMISSION FEES AND HIRE CHARGES FOR TWO INDOOR GAMES HALLS, 22 TENNIS COURTS, 23 SQUASH COURTS AND SIX PUBLIC SWIMMING POOL COMPLEXES MANAGED BY THE REGIONAL SERVICES DEPARTMENT.

ASSISTANT DIRECTOR (HEADQUARTERS), MR GEOFFREY ORR, SAID THE OBJECT OF THE PROPOSED REVISION WAS TO SET CHARGES AT LEVELS CONSISTENT WITH THE OBJECTIVE OF OPTIMISING THE USAGE OF THE FACILITIES BY RESIDENTS OF NON-URBAN AREAS AND COMPARABLE WITH CHARGES IN THE URBAN AREAS.

MR ORR SAID THE PRESENT FEES AND CHARGES, INTRODUCED IN JANUARY LAST YEAR, HAD FALLEN BELOW CORRESPONDING CHARGES IN URBAN AREAS, WHICH WERE LAST REVISED IN APRIL 1984 FOR TENNIS AND SQUASH COURTS, IN JUNE 1984 FOR GAMES HALLS AND IN JUNE 1985 FOR SWIMMING POOLS.

+ADMISSION FEES AND HIRE CHARGES FOR THESE FACILITIES ARE SET AT LEVELS WHICH ARE CONSIDERED AFFORDABLE BY THE GENERAL PUBLIC AND ARE THUS CONSISTENT WITH THE DEPARTMENT'S AIM OF ENCOURAGING THEIR OPTIMUM USE BY RESIDENTS OF THE NON-URBAN AREAS WHILE RECOUPING PART OF THE OPERATING COSTS,+ HE SAID.

AT PRESENT, THE LEVELS OF SUBSIDY FOR RECREATIONAL FACILITIES IN NON-URBAN AREAS WERE 82.4 PER CENT FOR INDOOR GAMES HALLS, 69 PER CENT FOR TENNIS COURTS, 52 PER CENT FOR SQUASH COURTS AND 81.1 PER CENT FOR SWIMMING POOLS.

+ IF THE PROPOSED NEW CHARGES ARE APPROVED, FEES AND CHARGES AS WELL AS THE METHOD OF CHARGING, WILL BE IN LINE WITH THE URBAN AREA PRACTICE,+ HE SAID.

+THIS WILL BRING THE SUBSIDY LEVELS IN 1986/87 DOWN TO 81.9 PER CENT FOR INDOOR GAMES HALLS, 62 PER CENT FOR TENNIS COURTS, 51 PER CENT FOR SQUASH COURTS AND 79.6 PER CENT FOR SWIMMING POOLS.+

THE REVISION EXERCISE WILL ALSO CHANGE THE METHOD OF ALLOCATING THE USE OF GAMES HALLS, AS SPECIFIED IN PART OF THE SCHEDULE TO THE PLEASURE GROUNDS (NEW TERRITORIES) REGULATIONS, ALLOCATION OF FACILITIES IN AN INDOOR GAMES HALL IN NON-URBAN AREAS IS BY SESSIONS OF EITHER 90 MINUTES OR TWO HOURS, ACCORDING TO A FIXED SCALE OF FEES.

+THIS RIGID METHOD OF CHARGING, WHICH IS DIFFERENT FROM THE REVISED PRACTICE IN THE URBAN AREAS, MEANS THAT A USER HAS TO BOOK A WHOLE SESSION, EVEN THOUGH HE MAY ONLY NEED PART OF IT.

+SHOULD A