Sessional_Paper_1930 — Page 42

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6. We have not overlooked the fact that the full realisation of our proposals will involve both time and money and indeed more money than the Colony is likely to be able to afford for many years. We regard it however as being of immediate and paramount. importance that adequate areas for 'lungs' and playing fields should be permanently reserved, by legislation if necessary, and so saved from alienation for building purposes. We have indicated the areas which appear to us to be necessary for this purpose and we have endeavoured, where possible, to minimize the loss which these reservations will cause to the public revenue by excluding from our reservations the more valuable building frontages.

we have

7. Throughout our enquiries and in formulating our recommendations we been guided by the following principles:

(a) Where there is at present ground only temporarily allowed to be used for the purpose of playing games, to consider whether such ground should be permanently given over for this purpose, or whether it could not more advantageously in the Colony's interest be used in some other way, e.g. for building purposes, and alternative areas found in districts less valuable from a building point of view.

(b) Where there are permanent playing fields at present existing to consider whether they could not be extended, or whether better use for games could not be made of them than that to which they are now put.

(c) In areas still awaiting development to consider what ground it was practic- able to make available with little expense almost immediately, both to relieve congestion elsewhere and to provide for the future needs of the growing districts in which they are situated, and at the same time to consider whether any other land on the outskirts of these districts might be reserved against more distant contingencies and not for immediate

use.

(d) In the already thickly-populated urban districts to consider what open spaces might still be preserved as smaller children's playgrounds and generally as 'Jungs' to the various localities, or for use as places on which games, occupying little space, might be organized for school boys and others in the neighbouring streets.

(e) To leave as far as possible to the discretion of the permanent Recreation Grounds Committee all detailed questions of individual allotments to Clubs and individual periods of tenure and to make only a general re- commendation in the matter of tenure.

HONG KONG.

ADEQUACY OF PRESENT LARGE GROUNDS AND FRESH

PROVISION FOR THE FUTURE.

8. We find that since 1925 the larger portions of an already formed building site at Caroline Hill of approximately 10 acres in extent have been allotted on annual permit to two Clubs as playing fields. We understand that this site was intended originally to be the site for the new Queen's College for which other sites have since been considered while the building of the College has been postponed for financial reasons, that, including part of the cost of the approach road, the sum of $214,000 has already been spent by Govern- ment on its formation, and that if the whole area was cleared and made suitable for recreation purposes and other incidental expenses met, the total cost of the site would amount to not less than $260,000. We understand further that the value of the site as building land is approximately 1 million dollars. We have noticed that this area is situated in a district of which a very large nortion is devoted to playing fields, and that there are open spaces all around, Happy Valley, Queen's Recreation Ground and Soo- kunpoo Recreation Ground all being in the immediate neighbourhood.

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