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HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
MR. K. A. WATSON :-To a newcomer to this Council one surprising fact is the wide range of its activities. It appears to be concerned with almost every aspect of the life of this bustling, noisy, cheerful, appallingly overcrowded rabbit warren of a city. It deals with the conditions under which people are housed, fed, and cared for, and indeed under which many of them make their living. Most of these problems appear to arise from the familiar features, too many people, too little space and too few houses.
We are concerned directly through the Resettlement Department with the problem of inadequate housing as it affects one section of the community, the squatters. Their need is urgent and obvious and I am sure we are all agreed that every effort should be made to complete their resettlement as quickly as possible. There is, however, an even larger section of the community living in crowded tenements, sharing cubicles and cocklofts and verandahs, many of them very much worse off than the squatters, for whom nothing whatever is being done. The Housing Authority, unfortunately, appears to be concerned only with flats for the comparatively well-to-do. It is known that very few families can afford to spend more than about 10 percent of their income on rent and rates, and on this basis the Housing Authority is catering for the most part for families with incomes between $600 and $1,450 a month. If therefore any help is to be given to those in the lower income groups whom one would expect to have the greatest need, it will have to come from the Resettlement Department or another similar body. I hope the Commissioner will consider whether it is possible to expand his programme to include these families with low incomes living in unhealthy conditions in tenement houses, to whom a flat in the Resettlement Blocks would be better than their present circumstances.
I realize that the rehousing of the tenement dwellers is part of the complicated problem of slum clearance, on which, sooner or later, Government will have to take resolute action. An important aspect of this problem is the scarcity of land. It is clear that there will be little or no progress in slum clearance, if we try to rehouse our population one house at a time. What is required is a large area of vacant land close to the district to be cleared on which to make the first move so that a whole district can be re-opened and rebuilt.
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
Government is investigating sites and large scale reclamations for new towns in the New Territories, and these are of course essential if industry is to expand enough to provide work for our increasing population. But these new towns, far away from the urban areas will be of little use for slum clearance, because people living in the slums usually have their jobs, their friends, neighbourhood ties in these districts and will refuse to move far from their present homes. Certainly, for the great majority, giving up their jobs and finding new ones in the New Territory towns will be out of the question. The vacant land required must be as close as possible to the district which is to be cleared.
In Kowloon this requirement will not be difficult to meet. Yaumati could be reclaimed to provide the initial start to the clearance programme.
But for the island there seems to me to be only one solution, the reclamation of the Kellett Bank, north of Green Island, which would enable a start to be made on two of the worst areas in the Colony, at Kennedy Town and at West Point. This reclamation will be difficult and expensive to tackle but looking at the problem realistically, there is no other solution. The cost, however, would be largely for manual labour so the money spent will remain in the Colony and give employment to many of our people, an aspect which will become increasingly important as unemployment figures rise appreciably.
If and when the Resettlement Department is handed the problem of slums clearance I hope it and the Town Planning Department of the P.W.D. will give serious consideration to this suggestion, which appears to me to offer a practical solution to one of our problems.
And with that suggestion Mr. Chairman, I have pleasure in supporting the Motion before this Council. (Applause).
DR. P. F. Woo :—I rise to support your motion on the Statement of Progress and Policy and the lay-out of the main aims for the work of the forthcoming year. There is no doubt that there is all-round improvement and efficiency in every section of the Urban Services Department. There is also better cooperation among the members because unlike the previous year there has been cordiality, harmony and better understanding among the Official, Nominated and Elected Members. Such friendly under-
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Page 22 of 139
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Page 22 of 139
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HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
MR. K. A. WATSON :-To a newcomer to this Council one surprising fact is the wide range of its activities. It appears to be concerned with almost every aspect of the life of this bustling, noisy, cheerful, appallingly overcrowded rabbit warren of a city. It deals with the conditions under which people are housed, fed, and cared for, and indeed under which many of them make their living. Most of these problems appear to arise from the familiar features, too many people, too little space and too few houses.
We are concerned directly through the Resettlement Depart- ment with the problem of inadequate housing as it affects one section of the community, the squatters. Their need is urgent and obvious and I am sure we are all agreed that every effort should be made to complete their resettlement as quickly as possible. There is, however, an even larger section of the com- munity living in crowded tenements, sharing cubicles and cocklofts and verandahs, many of them very much worse off than the squatters, for whom nothing whatever is being done. The Housing Authority, unfortunately, appears to be concerned only with flats for the comparatively well-to-do. It is known that very few families can afford to spend more than about 10 percent of their income on rent and rates, and on this basis the Housing Authority is catering for the most part for families with incomes between $600 and $1,450 a month. If therefore any help is to be given to those in the lower income groups whom one would expect to have the greatest need, it will have to come from the Resettlement Department or another similar body. I hope the Commissioner will consider whether it is possible to expand his programme to include these families with low incomes living in unhealthy conditions in tenement houses, to whom a flat in the Resettlement Blocks would be better than their
present circumstances.
I realize that the rehousing of the tenement dwellers is part of the complicated problem of slum clearance, on which, sooner or later, Government will have to take resolute action. An important aspect of this problem is the scarcity of land. It is clear that there will be little or no progress in slum clearance, if we try to rehouse our population one house at a time. What is required is a large area of vacant land close to the district to be cleared on which to make the first move so that a whole district can be re-opened and rebuilt.
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
25
Government is investigating sites and large scale reclamations for new towns in the New Territories, and these are of course essential if industry is to expand enough to provide work for our increasing population. But these new towns, far away from the urban areas will be of little use for slum clearance, because people living in the slums usually have their jobs, their friends, neighbourhood ties in these districts and will refuse to move far from their present homes. Certainly, for the great majority, giving up their jobs and finding new ones in the New Territory towns will be out of the question. The vacant land required must be as close as possible to the district which is to be cleared.
In Kowloon this requirement will not be difficult to meet. Yaumati could be reclaimed to provide the initial start to the clearance programme.
But for the island there seems to me to be
only one solution, the reclamation of the Kellett Bank, north of Green Island, which would enable a start to be made on two of the worst areas in the Colony, at Kennedy Town and at West Point. This reclamation will be difficult and expensive to tackle but looking at the problem realistically, there is no other solution. The cost, however, would be largely for manual labour so the money spent will remain in the Colony and give employment to many of our people, an aspect which will become increasing important as unemployment figures rise appreciably.
If and when the Resettlement Department is handed the problem of slums clearance I hope it and the Town Planning Department of the P.W.D. will give serious consideration to this suggestion, which appears to me to offer a practical solution to one of our problems.
And with that suggestion Mr. Chairman, I have pleasure in supporting the Motion before this Council. (Applause).
DR. P. F. Woo :—I rise to support your motion on the State- ment of Progress and Policy and the lay-out of the main aims for the work of the forthcoming year. There is no doubt that there is all-round improvement and efficiency in every section of the Urban Services Department. There is also better cooperation among the members because unlike the previous year there has been cordiality, harmony and better understanding among the Official, Nominated and Elected Members. Such friendly under-
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.