TNAG-0280-FCO40-316-Visit-of-Parliamentary-under-Secretary-of-Foreign-and-Common-1970 — Page 12

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Note No. 2

VISIT OF PARLIAMENTARY UNDER SECRETARY, MR. ROYLE, TO HONG KONG OCTOBER, 1970

HOUSING

Problems for Consideration

About 1.7 million people (40% of the total population) live

in Government and Government aided housing: it is the policy of

the Government gradually to shift the emphasis of its housing

programme from resettlement to Government low cost housing.

Accordingly, as the standard of living rises (even now many of

those resettled have T/V sets and/or refrigerators in their

rooms) so the Government should be gradually relieved of the

burden of providing cheap housing.

2.

Meanwhile there are formidable problems to be overcome.

Improvement of conditions in resettlement estates

3. Many of the earlier resettlement estates were rushed up

without provision, being made for the necessary ancillary services,

eating places and markets in particular. There was an urgent

need at that time to provide basic accommodation.

Those compelled

to occupy these estates seem to have little or no desire to keep

the buildings and their surroundings tidy; in the absence of

planned facilities (e.g. shops, eating places) hawkers abound.

As a result, some of these estates are squalid in the extreme.

4. As an experiment one old block was recently revamped,

were enlarged and sanitary arrangements generally improved but

at a cost of $600,000 for half the number of people who originally

lived there.

5.

It is becoming more and more difficult to find suitable

sites for building within reach of established factories,

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