Resettlement_Department_Annual_Report_1971-1972 — Page 37

85. The introduction of the street lighting scheme in Rennie's Mill Cottage Arca entered into its second stage, in that a further 59 street lights were provided in the area. 48 street lights were already provided in 1970, and it is expected that the third and final stage of this scheme will be completed in 1972-73.

CHAPTER 7

RESETTLEMENT FACTORIES

86. In the early days of resettlement most arcas cleared for redevelop- ment contained only domestic units, shops and cottage industries. However, in the course of time, clearance areas, especially those previously occupied under permits issued by the Public Works Depart- ment, began to include larger industrial concerns with heavier machinery. It therefore became necessary to provide resettlement factories in order to facilitate the clearance of undertakings that could not be housed in the ground floor workshops of domestic estates, but which clearly required specialized accommodation. However, since November, 1969, all eligible operators of squatter factories or workshops involved in a clearance who operated trades permissible in resettlement factory buildings, were offered appropriate resettlement factory accom- modation; ground floor workshops in domestic estates were no longer allocated.

87. The first of these factories was built in 1957 and since that date one single-storey and twenty-one multi-storey blocks have been built, comprising 7,861 units with about 1.9 million square feet of working space. In August, 1971, a new contract was concluded for the construction of two additional factory blocks in the existing Kwai Chung Resettlement Flatted Factory Estate providing 756 units of 256 square feet each. Building is now in progress and is expected to be completed in August, 1972. On 31st March, 1972, 7,015 units were occupied by 2,289 individual concerns, an increase of 226 businesses during the year. 8451 units remained unoccupied at the end of the year, mainly in Yuen Long and Tai Wo Hau. On the other hand, a severe shortage of factory space existed in the urban area. To meet clearance commitments, the department took steps with the assistance of the Legal Department to recover 345 units temporarily let to 60 tenants during 1968 and 1969 at Kwun Tong Resettlement Flatted Factory Estate. At

27