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# HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL

## ADDRESS BY CHAIRMAN

CHAIRMAN (in English):-Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. It is with regret that we record the passing of Mr. Henry WONG, who was a Member of this Council from 1969 to 1973 during which period he rendered dedicated service to the community.

The first item on the agenda is the confirmation of the minutes.

## MINUTES

The minutes of the meeting held on 8th June, 1976 were confirmed.

(Mr. Edmund W. H. CHOW arrived at this point.)

## STATEMENT BY CHAIRMAN

CHAIRMAN (in English):-Hong Kong is much admired for its natural beauty. Our visitors tell us so. Our own people take it mostly for granted. Although nature made it attractive, yet man has despoiled the impressive scenery in frenzied building activity with little environmental planning. But, man should call a halt to the seemingly haphazard development characteristic of catch-as-catch-can postwar Hong Kong when the only aim is generally to maximize returns on investment. To make amends, there should be a call for better total planning, strict enforcement of lease conditions and honest control over execution of projects without toleration of deviations for private advantage. If so, Hong Kong would become visually a better city.

It is what the people now expect in any case. There is perceptibly more critical assessment on the part of local people of all that is done, not of the Government's role alone on the stage, but also of big business now in the wings, safely out of sight. Indeed, social accountability may soon be the order of the day here. This inclination to demand more exacting standards of public performance can be discerned even now and will surely be more pronounced in quick time.

Hong Kong was described as a barren rock just a hundred and thirty years ago. Early on, some people had the foresight to plant many thousands of trees and shrubs. Hence, the thick vegetation still seen on the Island. Alas, wartime depredations and also the vast construction jobs since then, although much needed, have scarred hillsides, destroyed hundreds of private gardens, felled numerous roadside trees and created new urbanization problems.

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In the last twenty years, parks and gardens, sitting-out areas and amenity plots, no matter how small, have been laid out. If allocated to the Council as public open space, every parcel of land is developed for the enjoyment of the people and to offset the pollution of our environment. In time, more greenery will mitigate the harshness of our overcrowded city. Indeed, where few existed before, there are now 403 public pleasure grounds in our cramped urban areas, covering 915 acres, together with 202 smaller sitting-out areas in 112 acres of other land. There are, besides, 76 amenity plots, adding up to about 29 acres, and the many more minor ones found at roadsides.

A systematic effort has been made to plant trees and shrubs too with the modest hope of restoring a measure of ecological balance. Since 1963 slightly more than half a million trees and nearly 800,000 shrubs have been put down throughout the city, concentrating first on the areas of greatest need where people live cheek by jowl. There is the promise of more to be done in the years ahead as our own plant nurseries start producing in sufficient quantities for us to continue our work on a selective scale. Then, we will not depend as heavily as we did in the past on purchases from various private sources. It costs us $5.5 million since 1st April 1973 to do so. It was an exercise to set off in some way the frenetic pace of high-density construction Hong Kong experienced in the last quarter-century with apparently little regard for the environment. Now, it is time for more discriminating planting. In essence, the right tree in the right place.

To help make Hong Kong green, our staff must be properly trained. Horticultural courses lasting six months are run here regularly; in the last five years many have attended them. All who now work in gardening go through such training as standard job requirement. In addition, some have completed horticulture certificate-courses abroad, with others still away. And, with the planned overhaul of the amenities staff structure, there will be more people with the proper skill and knowledge. In consequence, a general improvement in the appearance of our city may be expected in due time.

There is still another side to our responsibility. The Council must always be on guard against the indiscriminate chopping down of trees in public places. Indeed, the Urban Services Department submits a detailed quarterly report on trees cut down or otherwise removed from urban locations for various cogent reasons. The Council is told whether they can and should be transplanted; also, if thought desirable, how they will be replaced. In fact, inspection squads of tree-surgeons are sent out to check the condition of our trees and to treat them as may be required. Road development plans are gone into carefully so that

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