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# HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL

## ADDRESS BY CHAIRMAN

CHAIRMAN (in English):-Ladies and gentlemen, since we last met, our Vice-Chairman, Dr. Henry Hu, has been appointed as a Member of the Legislative Council. We have offered him our congratulations in private. Now I do so in public together with our best wishes for many years of rewarding service there. (Applause).

It is also a very sad occasion for us to record the passing of Mr. Li Yiu-bor who served on this Council from 1956 to 1969 when he rendered very great service in many capacities. I have since condoled with his family and I would now like to put on record our deepest sympathy.

## MINUTES

The minutes of the meeting held on 24th August, 1976 were confirmed.

## STATEMENT BY CHAIRMAN

CHAIRMAN (in English):

### Planning of Land Use

For many years now there has been a diligent search for public land for community use. Sadly, the Council is restricted in territory, so our choice is necessarily circumscribed.

In reality, absurd as it may seem, we cannot have recourse to land in the New Territories to lay out some easily accessible areas as parks and playing fields. Evidently, our heavily concentrated urban population must have them for normal recreational use. Already, they go out there in great numbers in search of opportunities for recreation.

This healthy practice is gratifying. It is certain to grow and penetrate more and more into remote places. Yet, a vast movement of carefree holiday makers here tends to litter and mar the beauty of the countryside. Some thoughtless ones among them may even cause grave damage to the environment and upset the ecology. So, many more attractive spots and pleasant walks should be carefully selected and prepared. Good conditions should be created without delay. For play, picnic or outing for the people's free enjoyment in their leisure-time.

### HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL

With the physical and political constraints imposed on us, we must thus make do with relatively small parcels of urban land. The search has been successful to a degree. For this reason, the people can now enjoy many neighbourhood open-spaces for their rest and recreation. They did not have them before. And, they still need more in short time.

However, there should be a comparable concern on the Council's part for the acquisition of public land for other vital community uses. Hong Kong badly needs more markets, bazaars, toilets, bath-houses, refuse collection points and the like.

In the past, unfortunately, the impression was created with us and the users too, as we have been told, that the Council was sometimes given only such sites as could not be sold with advantage. We should now take the lead instead. We ought to stake a claim for all that the community needs for such varied services as we provide. To do any good at all, we must indicate the actual locations we want for our diverse purposes. This action should not await the statutory publication of town-plans, showing how the authorities would wish land to be allocated in a district. To be useful, our intervention should anticipate such an exercise. Surely, we should not just sit back and twiddle our thumbs while waiting for the crumbs to fall off the planning table. On the contrary, it would be reasonable to expect that our concern for the proper and orderly development of public land for community use would be shared. Perhaps ingenuously, we thought our wish to be an active partner in planning the social use of our limited urban land resources would be welcome in the community's interest. Regrettably, it has not seemed so.

To be practical, it is up to the Urban Services Department to determine carefully what district and regional needs are. Actually, they should not hesitate to pinpoint the precise sites best suited for the proper performance of the various municipal functions. Proposals for community projects should then be put to the appropriate select committees. If approved, the Department should seek at once the assignment of the particular pieces of land for early development.

All in all, we should devote far more time and thought to forecasting community needs. We would then be able to prepare our position intelligently and do so well in advance of the time when such civic facilities would be wanted, if they are not already critically needed. Indeed, many are even now. Anyway, it is not enough for us to build and equip. In effect, we should also assess staff requirements and train the people ahead of time for them to render competent service right from the start.

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