1961 — Page 40

; י''

Page 40 of 110

64

HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL

restaurants in Resettlement Areas. The licensees were only offered single bays in view of the small size of their previous squatter res- taurants, but it has admittedly been found to be very difficult to keep them in a hygienic condition, and as a result of a policy decision of the Areas and Estates Select Committee all new restaurants cover a minimum of two bays. Certain proposals for improving conditions in one-bay restaurants are embodied in a paper issued to the Food and Food Premises Select Committee and Resettlement Areas and Estates Select Committee on 12th April, 1961. If Mr. FUNG has any further suggestions, the matter can be discussed in the Areas and Estates Select Committee, of which Mr. FUNG is a member. It can be placed on the agenda for the next meeting.

Mr. Ernest WONG referred to the question of flatted factories or, as he prefers to call them, flatted workshops and the present policy of excluding certain trades. The excluded trades are mostly those which are listed as dangerous or which give rise to offensive effluent or exces- sive obstruction. Factories which occupy more than 2,000 sq. ft. in a squatter area are also excluded as it is thought that the proprietors should be in a position to make other arrangements. There is always danger of overloading of floors and I am at present looking into the question of strengthening both first and second floors in future buildings with a view to increasing the areas for the heavier type of operations such as machine grinding.

I am afraid that I disagree strongly with Mr. CHAN Shu-woon on his suggestion that private enterprise could assume some of the respon- sibilities within the Resettlement Estates. It was partly due to the failure of controlled private enterprise that the Resettlement Depart- ment came into being and I cannot believe, particularly in view of the high rates of interest, that it can again step into the breach. If, of course, Mr. CHAN was referring to non-profit organizations such as an Industrial Development Corporation, suggested by Mr. CHEONG-LEEN, the position would be somewhat different, but I feel that any such suggestion would have to be most carefully considered. I cannot see in any case why projects of an Industrial Development Corporation should necessarily be linked up with the Resettlement Estates.

There were comments by Mr. MARDEN and Mr. CHEONG-LEEN on the need for an efficiency expert and from Mr. WATSON on the need for avoidance of duplication of staff. I can assure members that the arrival of such an impartial critic would be most welcome. Members will be interested to hear that the impending move in August or September to the new building in Pui Ching Road next door to the existing Resettlement Administration Office should represent a notable step forward in this direction. The department's headquarters is at present most unsatisfactory, situated as it is on the 8th floor of a block

HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL

65

in the Western district whereas most of the departmental activities are The transfer to Kowloon of the Headquarters should in Kowloon. allow much closer supervision. Economies of staff will also result. Mr. CHEONG-LEEN may rest assured that all staff will be carefully supervised.

Finally, I wish to say that Government Low Cost Housing schemes are under urgent action at present, both as regards the selection of additional sites and a construction programme, and also in regard to the selection of tenants. I am sure that everybody is fully aware of the fact that the established resident with the small income, for whom Mr. SALES puts in a plea, is probably the greatest sufferer from existing housing shortages.

DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS: Mr. Chairman, Members raised a wide range of interesting issues in their speeches at our last sitting. One item kept recurring, viz. housing. There was some perhaps under- standable confusion between the Resettlement and Government Low Cost Housing programmes and as the construction programme for these projects, together with inter-related services such as land, water, drainage, roads, etc. fall to my Department I should like, Sir, to clarify matters and present a few facts. I will do so in the very broadest

terms.

Government housing, as you are aware, is done by estates not individual Blocks. Timing is therefore conditioned by sites for whole estates and the rough programme followed is:

(i) to find a site large enough to be worthwhile and in a suitable

area;

(ii) to survey the area and complete engineering investigations;

these together take about six months;

(iii) to clear the site of existing buildings, squatters, etc.; (iv) to form it by reclamation or carving mountains or both, including engineering services, drains, water, roads, etc.; these take about eighteen months;

(v) to build the estate,

this takes about twelve months-and the total is three years. That concerns one Estate and there are several of them in hand concurrently.

The Public Works Department's planned programme for Resettle- ment Housing was put on a chart on 1st August, 1959 and the pro- gramme on planned sites carries us to 1965/66. I have a number of copies here. Our aim was to complete H and I shaped Blocks of apartments to house roughly 2,000 persons per Block. At present we

Page 40Page 41