XN000022-1996-12-23 — Page 9

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Faster processing of land exchanges and lease modifications

The Lands Department has issued a Practice Note to authorised persons, surveyors and solicitors advising them of the new procedures adopted by the department to expedite the processing of land exchange and lease modification applications, the Director of Lands, Mr Bob Pope, said today (Monday).

"The new procedures, which are already in place, will help to shorten the time taken to process these applications and to make the decision-making process more open and accountable." he said.

One of the new procedures is that the Lands Department will issue a letter within a month to an applicant informing him of the proposed documentation and, where possible, the estimated date for offering the basic terms.

For complex and major cases, the applicant may be invited to attend the District Lands Conference (DLC), which is a departmental conference to determine the appropriate special conditions and basic terms, to answer questions and provide clarification, where necessary.

As for simple or straightforward cases, the applicant will be offered, wherever possible, the basic terms (excluding the premium) within 14 days from the date of approval by the DLC. The applicant will then have 14 days to decide if he will accept these basic terms. He will also be advised in the basic terms letter of the estimated date when an offer of premium will be made.

On assessment of premium, the applicant will be invited to provide any information he considers relevant within two weeks from the date of the basic terms letter. For complex cases where there is a request for review of the premium, the Registered Professional Surveyor representing the applicant may be invited to present his case to a Valuation Conference.

To save time on plan preparation, the applicant should assist by supplying copies of site plans, where practicable, to enable early circulation of his application to relevant government departments for comments. He should also clearly outline the terms of variations, such as proposed user, maximum gross floor area, site coverage, proposed number of storeys and building heights, to assist in the drafting of the appropriate lease conditions.

These new arrangements are part of our continuing efforts in improving our services to the community in line with the Financial Secretary's "Helping Business" programme, said Mr Pope.