1983 — Page 26

Page 26 of 194

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PAPER

HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL

The following paper was laid on the table:-

(1) Report to the Urban Council by the Director of Urban Services and Secretary, Urban Council, for the month of April 1983.

QUESTIONS

1.

MRS. GRACE Ho asked the following question (in English):—What progress has been made for rebuilding of Kowloon City Market and what facilities will be provided within the new building and what is the expected occupation date?

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MR. SHUM CHOI-SANG, CHAIRMAN OF THE MARKETS AND STREET TRADERS SELECT COMMITTEE, replied as follows (in Cantonese):-It is planned to redevelop the existing Kowloon City Market into a multi-storey U.C. complex estimated cost $58 million providing not only modern market facilities to the residents of Kowloon City but also a cooked food centre, an indoor games hall, a games room, squash courts and offices. The aim of redeveloping this site is threefold: firstly, to update the existing market facilities; secondly, to improve the environment by resiting hawkers from the surrounding streets; and, thirdly, to provide additional recreation facilities in the Kowloon City District.

The market will consist of 124 meat, fish and poultry stalls, reprovisioning the existing market stallholders, and 693 mini-stalls for both wet goods and dry goods. The market will be made as attractive as possible, with special attention given to ventilation and lighting and easy access to upper floors by escalators and lifts. There will be a cooked food centre of 24 stalls. This will operate independently of the market with separate access.

For the sports enthusiast, there will be three squash courts, all fully air conditioned and a games hall suitable for games such as basketball, volleyball and badminton. Although not designed specifically for this purpose, the games hall will be capable of being utilized as an exhibition hall, lecture hall and perhaps useful for other cultural events. It will not, however, have a stage which will restrict its use for some cultural activities. There is also a small multi-purpose games room in which dancing, judo and other cultural and sporting activities can take place.

The existing stallholders in the Kowloon City Market will be moved to a temporary market at Carpenter Road later this year to allow the old building to be demolished and the new complex to be built. This project is scheduled for completion in mid-1986.

MRS. Ho (in Cantonese):—Mr. Chairman, I have a question concerning the indoor games hall and the small multi-purpose games room. Are they for the sole purpose of U.C. events or can they be rented out to other organizations?

HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL

MR. SHUM (in Cantonese):-Mr. Chairman, as far as I know, apart from events being organized by the U.C., they can be rented by outsiders.

2. MR. CHAN CHI-KWAN on behalf of MR. PAO PING-WING and himself asked the following question (in Cantonese):-In view of the concern shown by the Kowloon City District Board, can we be enlightened as to what plans the Council has for the Carpenter Road Garden?

MR. KENNETH T. C. LO, CHAIRMAN OF THE RECREATION SELECT COMMITTEE, replied as follows (in English): The Carpenter Road Park in Kowloon City will be a comprehensive recreational development with both active and passive facilities, to be built on a 6-hectare site zoned as 'Open Space' on the Wang Tau Hom and Tung Tau Outline Zoning Plan No. LK 8/23D. The scope of the project was approved by the Council in 1979.

Implementation of this project will involve clearing the site in several major operations. Stage I will be mainly for passive facilities and will consist of a rest garden and a children's playground. The estimated cost of $3.7 million for this development was approved by the Council in May 1981. Stage II will be for active facilities and will be implemented in two phases. Phase 1 of this stage which is estimated to cost $7.2 million will consist of one hard-surface soccer pitch, a jogging track and planting areas. Phase 2 of Stage II which is estimated to cost $11.6 million will consist of 1 mini-soccer pitch, jogging track and a rest garden. The layout plans and estimates for Stage II were approved by the Council last month.

The park project has reached an advanced stage of planning. The site for Stage I has been cleared and construction is expected to commence in June this year. Clearance of the site for Phase 1 of Stage II development is scheduled to take place later this year. It is vital that work on site commences as soon as it is cleared. It is expected that construction works for Phase 1 Stage II will start at the end of the year. The site for Phase 2 of Stage II will be cleared in 1984 or 1985 and it is expected that construction work will start soon thereafter. The Kowloon City District Board has been informed of the programme for the project.

When the layout plans for Phase 1 of the Stage II development of the park were presented to the Kowloon City District Board for advice in February 1983, some members of the Board considered that the site should not be used for a football pitch and that other public uses such as a public car park or a community hall should be explored. These suggestions were subsequently referred to a special working group of the Environmental Improvement Committee of the District Board for detailed examination.

The District Board may have overlooked the fact that Kowloon City is short of recreational space in terms of the areas set out in the planning standards. There may well be a need for a car park, but no reason has been advanced why it should be sited on land zoned as open space. It would seem preferable to site a