1959 — Page 39

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Page 39 of 107

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HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL

CHAIRMAN: --The debate on the statement of Progress and Policy which was adjourned from the April meeting will now resume.

It is intended that the replies by the officials should be brief and grouped under the headings of the 17 Select Committees so that if subsequent action is necessary, reference can easily and expeditiously be made to the appropriate Select Committees.

The officials will speak as follows: firstly the Commissioner for Resettlement on resettlement questions; secondly the Director of Public Works; thirdly the Vice Chairman; and fourthly myself.

THE COMMISSIONER FOR Resettlement:-Mr. Chairman, in the course of this debate a number of members have referred to resettle- ment factories, suggesting that there should be more of them and that the range of industries that they can accommodate should be widened. These factories were designed to provide for squatter industries that had to be moved in the course of clearance operations, and after the success of the pilot project at Cheung Sha Wan it has been agreed that more should be built to provide for future clearances. Additional factories are in fact being built at the new estates at Jordan Valley and Chai Wan and a second factory is to be built at Cheung Sha Wan this year.

In these new factories we are taking advantage of the experience gained in the pilot scheme and modifications in design are being made which will make it possible for a slightly wider range of trades to be accommodated.

On this question I should like to remind Members of the suggestion made to the Colonial Development Corporation that flatted factories for more general use might be built by them in co-operation with the Hong Kong Government, and to draw their attention to the reference to this project made by the Honourable the Financial Secretary in his budget speech.

Dr. Raymond Lee suggested that the flatted factory principle should be extended to education and that flatted schools should be built to provide additional school accommodation. I am informed that the Education Department is already considering this proposal.

Mr. Chan Shu Woon referred to rooftop schools in resettlement estates. The present policy is that the rooftops in all resettlement estate blocks are allocated to voluntary agencies for use either as schools or as boys and girls clubs. The question of financial assistance to these schools has already been raised with the Director of Education.

Mr. R. C. Lee asked that a target date be fixed for the resettlement of rooftop squatters, and Mr. Sales proposed that the scope of resettle- ment should be widened, a proposal that was opposed by Mr. Watson

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with a wealth of statistical detail. The present policy is that priority must be given to the clearance of squatters that occupy land urgently needed for development, for housing, for schools and for hospitals and other much needed development for the community as a whole, and it is not possible at the moment to forecast when this task will be completed. The picture is not quite as gloomy as Mr. Watson has painted it. The original estimate of squatters that was made in 1955 is now thought to have been too conservative and there has in fact been more progress than might appear. Members will also have noted that the number of squatters resettled during this last year was higher than the figures of the two previous years and it is hoped to increase the future rate of resettlement still further. But I agree with Mr. Watson in his conclusion, that for the moment we must concentrate on the present resettlement programme.

THE DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS :—Mr. Chairman, the first subject on which I wish to comment is that raised by Mr. Li Yiu Bor con- cerning sites for parks and playgrounds. He has suggested that the Council should be consulted by the Town Planning Board. Now, as a member of this Council and a member of the Select Committee for Parks and Playgrounds, I am well acquainted with the views of the Council on this important matter. As members are aware, I am Chair- man of the Town Planning Board and you, Mr. Chairman, are a member of that Board; in addition very close liaison is being maintained between the Public Works Department and the Urban Services Depart- ment on this and related subjects. Mr. Li suggested that such con- sultation would "lead to the economical use of the best sites". That phrase may be open to misinterpretation. However, the location and size of plots that become available, or are reserved, for parks and playgrounds are normally readily defined by economic as well as other factors. The planning within the areas allocated is already in the hands of this Council.

Mr. R. C. Lee commented upon the need for more and higher car parking buildings and he urged that long term planning should be launched by Government for car parks on both sides of the harbour. I can assure Mr. Lee, and members, that planning is well advanced.

Mr. U Tat Chee referred to the need for alternative sites to be found for the bone factories at present in Kennedy Town. Whilst 1 agree whole-heartedly with Mr. U, I am sure that members are aware that it is not a trade that is welcomed as a neighbour by any section of the community. It has been suggested that the factories cannot exist if they are banished to distant locations and there is no central area where they would not have neighbours. Any constructive sugges- tion therefore that members of this Council might be able to contribute towards the solution of this problem would be most welcome.