Resettlement_Department_Annual_Report_1962-1963 — Page 17

Not surprisingly most of these structures were not of a very high standard.

44. The many attractive cottages now to be seen in the resettlement areas are largely the work of charitable and non-profit-making organi- zations. In September 1952 the Hong Kong Settlers Housing Corpora- tion was set up, financed partly by Government and partly by private subscription; it built over 1,500 cottages which were sold to settlers by hire-purchase, the instalments being either $20 or $35 a month depending on the size of the cottage. Most of these cottages have been fully paid for, with the exception of 45, for which hire-purchase pay- ments are still being made. The National Catholic Welfare Conference has built 2,744 stone cottages. The title to these cottages has been transferred to Government and they have been administered as Govern- ment-owned cottages. The Methodist Board of Missions has built 522 cottages which are administered by the Methodists themselves under the supervision of Resettlement Department staff. Church World Service has built 401 cottages which are administered in the same way as the Methodist cottages. A further 634 cottages, built in small groups by various other charitable organizations, have been donated to settlers.

45. Although many of the cottages are attractive and squatters generally prefer to live in them rather than in the multi-storeyed estates, Hong Kong can no longer spare the land for this type of development, at least in the urban areas. The cottage areas are also uneconomic since the cost of building and maintaining terraces and paths is dispropor- tionate to the value of the cottages themselves and is greater than can reasonably be recovered from the settlers in rents and permit fees. During the year only 131 new cottages were built, by a coincidence exactly the same number as in 1961-62, and they were all undertaken by the Methodist Board of Missions to replace dilapidated wooden huts built by settlers in Chai Wan and some cottages in Tai Wo Hau Cottage Area which had to be moved to permit further development of the area. A total of 655 persons were rehoused in this way. Existing cottage areas continue to be increasingly affected by town planning projects. A total of 1,417 cottages and huts were cleared and 13,408 persons were offered alternative accommodation in the various resettle- ment estates by the end of the year under review. Ho Man Tin/King's Park was affected most, as there were six separate clearances in this area, involving the demolition of 853 structures and the resettlement of 9,552 persons. It was also necessary to demolish 39 structures in Mount Davis Cottage Area in order to widen Victoria Road and eliminate

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