1981 — Page 22

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HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL

The Department has explored various other possibilities for putting the remaining unoccupied sections beneath the stands to better use, but so far without success, for two reasons:-

firstly, the remaining space is at the far end of the stadium some distance away from the main entrance at Yuen Ngai Street. There might therefore be access problems; and

secondly, the conversion of space into facilities unrelated to the purposes of the stadium would be likely to cause inconvenience to hirers of the stadium as well as problems of control and security.

It seems preferable to leave the space vacant until some more pressing need connected with the use of the stadium becomes apparent.

MISS YEUNG (in Cantonese):—Mr. Chairman, I would like to thank Mr. LO for mentioning that there are still unoccupied spaces, but could we do like at the Hong Kong Stadium, that is, leave the sides vacant and the doors open so that the side adjacent to Boundary Street could be used by sports organizations and they could borrow the space just as they do now in the Hong Kong Stadium?

MR. Lo (in English):-As I have indicated in my reply, Mr. Chairman, if it is connected with the use of facilities at the Stadium or connected with sports, I think we could consider it. But, if you let it out, these facilities then are liable to be used in a way which become more and more unrelated to the original purposes.

MISS YEUNG (in Cantonese):-I would like to make a correction. I don't mean that I want to hire the place out. What I mean is, sports associations and related organizations could make use of the space and not just rent it. Because there are such a lot of vacant spaces there and as you have pointed out, near Yuen Ngai Street, it is away from the main access, so that could be used perhaps for storage. And, on the other side, we could then develop it instead of leaving it vacant, because in Mong Kok, there are lots of sports organizations which really want to have more space to develop their activities.

MR. Lo (in English):—Yes, Mr. Chairman, we could consider that.

4. MR. STEPHEN M. L. LAU asked the following question (in Cantonese): (a) How many applications for Factory Canteen Licences so far have been

successful as against the number of unsuccessful ones?

(b) What are the reasons for refusing to grant licences to the unsuccessful

ones?

MISS MARIA W. C. TAM, CHAIRMAN OF THE FOOD HYGIENE SELECT COMMITTEE replied (in English):-This question concerns the licensing of factory canteens.

HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL

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The answer to the first part of the question is that, up to 31 March 1981, there were 207 applications for factory canteen licences in the urban area. Of these, 15 have been successful, 73 were initially unsuccessful, 9 were withdrawn, and 110 are still at various stages of processing. As a result of the recent decision by the Government to relax lease conditions governing the use of ground and near-ground floor premises, 25 out of the 73 unsuccessful cases which were initially refused by the Council are being re-processed. The 15 successful applicants have been issued with letter of licensing requirements which entitle them to obtain the requisite licences once the requirements have been complied with.

As to the second part of the question, 73 applications have been refused, 48 because they were incompatible with lease conditions; 13 because of structural problems or inadequate fire escapes; two because the premises concerned were constructed of combustible building materials or because the construction of a factory canteen would cause obstruction to exits or staircases; five on health grounds; and five for two or more of the above

reasons.

MR. LAU (in Cantonese):-Mr. Chairman, when the regulations were drawn up by this Council, one or two organizations thought that we were in too much of a hurry. Now, this matter has been considered by the Food Hygiene Select Committee and we do not find this so. Right now, we find that the process is very complicated, in 9 months we have granted only 40 licenses. So, I would like to ask, how long will we take to provide sufficient factory canteen licences and will the Council discuss with these organizations for further methods to make their premises suitable?

MISS TAM (in Cantonese):-I would like to thank Mr. LAU for his supplementary question. First of all, there are a total of 0.8 million factory workers in Hong Kong. The Urban Council and the Urban Services Department are fully aware of the importance of factory canteens. As for the complicated procedures as shown in the answer to the question, a lot of these applicants could not be granted licences because they are bound by regulations outside the jurisdiction of the Urban Services Department. As for negotiations with industrial and commercial enterprises to solve these problems, I would like to say that, when we last had a meeting with factory representatives, in November, 1980 the meeting lasted three hours. However, because of the Fire Services regulations, we discussed the matter with these departments. We cannot have a definite date as to when these problems will be solved and we cannot give an estimate of the time required. The most important thing is to see how many applicants we will receive and how they can be made to meet the various government regulations. I would like to further add that the Urban Services Department has prepared an information sheet. stating the requirements of the various government departments and also the