TNAG-2967-FCO40-4246-Future-of-Hong-Kong-British-Consulate-General-inclusion-of--1993 — Page 29

Вод

R:

HUD 406/13

- 9 SEP 1993

INDEA

Ms Barnes Jones HKD

¡CEF

ISTRY

From:

PA

Actron Tekan

Miss S Brooks Legal Counsellor

Date:

8 September 1993

CC: Mr Savage, OED

چین

FUTURE CONSULATE-GENERAL IN HONG KONG: BRITISH CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

1.

Thank you for sending me the final version of the Private Treaty Grant. Special Condition No. 7 does indeed throw a spanner in the works. This is a provision on user; as you know, it provides that the lot or any part thereof or any building or buildings on the lot shall not be used for any purpose other than accommodating the Consulate-General and such ancillary accommodation as may be required for the purpose of the Consulate-General, and for accommodating the British Council subject to certain conditions. This makes it quite clear that the lot may not be used for any other purposes, such as accommodating the British Chamber of Commerce. In addition, Special Condition 13 upon which I have already minuted, requires the written approval of the Director to be obtained before the Grantee may alienate the lot or any part of it or any building on it or enter into any agreement so to do, other than in respect of the British Council accommodation. It is somewhat difficult to reconcile Special Condition 7 with Special Condition 13. If the written approval of the Director were obtained under Special Condition 13 allowing the Grantee for example, to part with possession of part of the lot, and that part were subsequently occupied, this would appear to be in breach of Special Condition 7.

2.

In my view, the only chance of getting round this problem is to ask the Director for approval under Special Condition 13 to give a licence to the Chamber of Commerce. If this approval were obtained it would be necessary to draw the attention of the Hong Kong Government to Special Condition 7 and obtain in writing from them a waiver of Special Condition 13 or at least an acknowledgement that there would be no breach of Special Condition 7.

3. I still consider that, at the very least, the granting of the license to the British Chamber of Commerce would amount to encumbering the lot contrary to Special Condition 13, quite apart from the provisions of Special Condition 7.

I am surprised that Mr Neville of Johnson Stokes and Masters who appears to have seen a copy of the whole Private Treaty Grant (see paragraph 3 of Mr Savage's minute to you of 2 August) is

/prepared

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