Resettlement_Department_Annual_Report_1958-1959 — Page 47

MARINE DEPARTMENT LIBRARY

in a financial position either to purchase land or to pay the rents demanded for space in factory buildings erected on a commercial basis. 96. In general appearance the factory building is not unlike a large resettlement 'H' block but there are important structural differences. The weight is borne on columns spaced at twelve feet intervals. Each floor of each wing consists of 9,000 square feet of open space separated by a staircase and a ramp in the centre, and with additional staircase access at each end of the wings. Each floor is divisible into units of 198 square feet the clear space between each of the bearing members--and each of these units is the minimum area which can be allocated to any one concern. A verandah running round the building provides access to all units. The connecting link between the wings is used to house the communal latrines and wash spaces. The roofs of each of the wings provides drying space, a proportion of which is covered over, for the use of the factories housed in the building.

97. The rentals payable vary according to the floor, ranging from $75 a month for a ground floor unit to $45 a month for a unit on the top floor. Receipts from rents are calculated to cover all recurrent costs and to recover the original capital expenditure, including all engineering works, plus the value of the land at $25 a square foot, in twenty one years with interest at five per cent. The allocation of space is based on the floor area previously occupied by the concern for manufacturing purposes, computed as a multiple of the basic unit of 198 square feet. Thus a factory formerly occupying 1,200 square feet would be considered eligible for six units, while one occupying 350 square feet would be allocated only two units. The maximum allocation to any one factory has been set at ten units, and since it is intended to provide accommoda- tion for small concerns only any factory that requires more than 2,000 square feet of space is not provided for.

98. After taking up accommodation in the factory the individual tenants have to provide their own partition walls and front walls facing on to the verandahs. The internal layout of each factory is subject to the approval of the Labour Department and the Fire Brigade, and each concern has to make its own arrangements for the installation of water, electric light, and power or gas supplies.

99. The design of the building and the fact that a large number of concerns are accommodated in close proximity to each other, has made it necessary to exclude certain trades. These trades fall into four main categories: those that require more storage space than could be

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