TNAG-0317-FCO40-353-Policy-of-housing-and-resettlement-in-Hong-Kong-problem-of-s-1971 — Page 165

Registry

No. HK K 18/15 DRAFT

SECURITY CLASSIFICATION

Top Secret. Secret.

Confidential,

Restricted. Unclassified.

PRIVACY MARKING

To:-

HE Sir D Trench GAG MC

Colonial Secretariat

Type 1 +

From

Sir L Monson

Telephone No. & Ext.

Department

HONG KONG

..In Confidence

E O Laird

NOTHING TO BE WRITTEN IN THIS MARGIN

до

not recessarily some squallers

go to

До

من

we need to

~-~

Yes.

Thank you for your informative letter of

7 January about housing. The rehousing of a quarter

of the population over the next six years is

certainly an ambitious undertaking.

2.

Before we submit these proposals to Ministers we

should be grateful if you could clear up a few points

on which we are uncertain. First, you say that the

total of squatters living on land not required for

development in the urban areas of Hong Kong and Kowloon

is 317,000, of which it is proposed to rehouse 30,000.

This would appear to mean that the rehousing of the

balance of 287,000 is to be given a lower priority

than the movement to better accommodation of a number

of those now living in accommodation of a more perma-

nent nature but in more unsatisfactory conditions.

we are right in that assumption and if we take the

figure of 500,000 for the total number of squatters in

the urban areas, it would seem that the figure of

530,00 560,000 for low-cost housing and resettlement on page

4 of your letter can be broken down to 347,000 for bany exettled from elsewhere

low-cost housing and 213,000 for squatters. We

cannot, however, reconcile these figures with the

300,000 individual units of resettlement accommodation

and 290,000 units of government low-cost housing

approved by the Executive Council at its meeting on

29 September 1970. We are also uncertain as to

If

(118281) Dd. 391599 1,500м 2/69 Hw.

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