TNAG-0976-FCO40-1195-Legislation-for-public-health-and-urban-services-in-Hong-Kon-1980 — Page 146

FONG TONG

LEGAL REPORT.

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THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND URBAN SERVICES

(AMENDMENT) ORDINANCE 1980

(No. 7 of 1980)

MU

Enclosure No.2

This Ordinance amends the Public Health and

Urban Services Ordinance to improve and strengthen the controls over bill-posting.

2.

Experience gained before the enactment of the Ordinance had shown that the existing law was not effective in controlling the indiscriminate posting of bills and

In particular there existed the following

posters. limitations

(a) action could only be taken against the

person who had actually put up the bill or poster. This restraint severely limited effective control, since it meant that the offender had to be caught in the act;

(b)

(c)

there was no positive requirement on the part of those exhibiting bills or posters, even with permission, to ensure that the bills and posters vere kept in a clean and tidy condition;

no provision was made in the law for the recovery of the cost of removing unsightly bills or posters or those put up unlawfully.

Control over bill posting was also rendered less effective by there being no clearly defined Government department responsible for bill posting.

3.

The Ordinance deals with these weaknesses as follows. New section 104B provides that bills or posters displayed on private or Crown land shall be maintained in a clean and tidy condition to the reasonable satisfaction of the Authority. This provision is based on Condition 1 of the standard conditions applicable to the display of posters in the United Kingdom contained in Schedule 1 to the Town and Country Planning (Control of Advertisements) Regulations 1969 (1969 8.I. No. 1532).