1962 — Page 137

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HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL

HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL

Page 137 of 150

259

CHAIRMAN: -The answer, Sir, is that two storeys are to be for shops, one storey for a telephone exchange and eight storeys for car parking.

MR. SALES: -Mr. Chairman, may I thank you for your reply and hope that this programme for 8,000 trees will in fact be carried out sooner, if it is at all possible.

MR. A. de O. SALES asked the following question :

May this Council know

(a) how many trees were planted in the urban areas in 1962

and how many were lost?

(b) what the planting programme is for the current year? (c) what plans have been made for the future?

THE CHAIRMAN replied as follows:-

-

During 1962 a total of 5.070 trees, made up of 20 flowering and 31 non-flowering varieties, were planted under the Urban Council's amenity tree-planting programme. 3,085 of these trees were planted along roads and beside bathing beaches: 1,985 were planted in parks and rest gardens. Losses during 1962 totalled 2,013 trees, most of these being due to Typhoon "Wanda".

During 1963 it is planned to plant a total of about 4,800 trees for amenity purposes. 1,500 of these will be for the new Fa Hui and Kowloon Tsai Parks: 1,400 will comprise new planting elsewhere in the urban area; the remaining 1,900 will be used to complete the replacement of trees lost during Typhoon “Wanda" and from other causes. As you, Sir, are aware, it is the Council's intention to expand its amenity tree-planting programme, and also to add colour to the local scene by making greater use of flowering varieties. The first batch of young seedlings for the expanded programme is now being raised in the Council's nursery at Shouson Hill. These will be ready for planting out in 1967, and from then onwards it is planned to plant out a total of about 8,000 trees each year, mainly of flowering varieties.

In addition, steps are being taken to raise 3,000 ornamental plants each year for planting out in parks, along roadsides and on hillsides. These will comprise colourful flowering varieties such as the Cracker Flower (Pau Cheung Fah).

MR. H. CHEONG-LEEN asked the following question:-

I understand that of the 4,000 children between the ages of four and ten living in the Jordan Valley Resettlement Estate, over 20% are without schooling facilities. Could the Commissioner for Resettlement please supply the figures of children in the 4-10 age group in each Resettle- ment Estate who are without schooling facilities? Has the Resettlement Department drawn this matter to the atten- tion of the Education Department, and what is the Educa- tion Department's reply?

THE COMMISSIOner for ResetTLEMENT replied as follows:-

It should be noted that the age group 4-10 contains children below the normal age of entry to primary schools, which is 6. Members will also be aware of the recent decision that the normal age of entry to Government and aided primary schools should be 7.

There are, according to our records, 3,992 children between the ages of 4 and 10 in Jordan Valley Estate but these figures should be treated with reserve. At any given time some children may be staying with relatives elsewhere and other children not covered by tenancy permits may be living in the Estate. Jordan Valley is, however, a comparatively new Estate and the figures are more likely to be accurate than those for the older and more congested Estates.

Within Jordan Valley Estate, i.e. in ground floors and roof- top schools there are places for 5,940 primary school children. Immediately outside there is 1 registered primary school, which caters primarily but by no means exclusively for the children of settlers and has a total of 1,782 places. It is thought that 3,154 of the children in the Estates, within the age group 4-10, are accommodated in the aforementioned schools, which leaves a balance of 838 or 21%. There are no records to show how many of this balance are attending kindergarten and primary schools elsewhere, whether they be Government or private,