Resettlement_Department_Annual_Report_1965-1966 — Page 30

the addition of people in certain categories, irrespective of room densities, although such additions may then entitle a family to a larger room. The new Ham Tin estate began its first intake in March bringing the number of resettlement estates to eighteen, one more than last year. A list of these estates and their population is in Appendix I; Appendix VI shows the growth in the authorized population of estates and cottage arcas since 1954.

63. What kind of domestic accommodation is available in these buildings? Each wing of an 'H' block is divided structurally into a number of 10 foot bays, each with a depth of about 25 feet. These bays were then originally sub-divided by partitions on the centre line into rooms of about 120 square feet (9 ft. 6 ins. × 12 ft. 6 ins.) which is the standard size for rooms in Mark I and II blocks. Tenants are respon- sible for decorating the rooms themselves.

64. Because of the very large number of squatters to be resettled, Government decided in 1954 that each of these 120 square feet rooms would have to accommodate 5 adults (two children under 10 counting as 1 adult), i.e. at a density of 24 square feet per adult. Ventilation is provided by a door and a large window opening on to the access balcony and by openings in the partitions at the rear of each room.

65. In time, variations in the position of the partitions in some of the bays allowed for additional room sizes. For instance, a full bay could consist of one room of 152 square feet and a smaller one of 86 square feet. These variations were made to accommodate families of different size. In addition, the basic room of 120 square feet was sometimes partitioned to make two small rooms for couples without children and for small groups of individual persons. There are thus many permutations of size, depending on the design of the block. The smallest room is 60 and the largest 360 square feet, the latter with its own kitchen, lavatory, shower and private balcony. The original design has now been abandoned and the Public Works Department has pro- duced a new one which closely resembles the multi-storey buildings of the Government Low Cost Housing Programme (which are managed by the Housing Authority). This new resettlement block, known as Mark III when it has eight storeys and Mark IV when it has sixteen storeys, now replaces the older types of resettlement building. Up to 31st March, 1966, 135 Mark III blocks had been constructed in the new Kowloon estates of Yau Tong, Sau Mau Ping and Tsz Wan Shan, at Chai Wan and Tin Wan on Hong Kong Island, and at Kwai Chung in the New

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