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HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
There are many reasons for stalls being left vacant. In the absence of proper studies, we do not know why these stalls are left vacant. In fact, after Members have raised the question today, I believe the Select Committee will certainly take the question more seriously and we also look forward to the arrival of 1 April 1996 when the problem of itinerary hawkers can be solved and we will be able to better understand what the actual vacancy rate is.
With regard to the question of location, I have already said that we will certainly conduct reviews including the intrinsic and extrinsic factors which account for the vacancy rates. The extrinsic factors are also very important because our past policy of resiting some of the hawkers in the past rendered some of the stalls very small in size, thus making them not so viable.
These are legacies of the past. After the last MST Select Committee meeting, we visited a new market, the Hung Hom Market to familiarise Members with the improved new design. If Members are interested about the design of our markets, I would be happy to arrange for a site visit to the Pei Ho Street Market which will be commissioned soon and where drastic improvements have also been achieved in terms of facilities and location.
THE HON. MAN SAI-CHEONG (in Cantonese):—Regarding the low occupancy rate of markets stalls, I think it has mainly to do with the issue of viability. If these stalls are viable, of course the occupancy rate will go up. What I am more concerned about is that after a market has been commissioned for a period of time and business is still bad, but the situation is aggravated by the commissioning of another similar UC market nearby. For example in Causeway Bay, whilst the Electric Road Market Complex is not so viable, the reconstructed Causeway Bay Market will be commissioned soon. As there must be some reasons for the non viability of some markets stalls in certain markets, I would like to ask whether the Department has identified the reasons for this and made some attempts to render such markets stalls more viable? If the answer is in the negative, what is the reason for not doing that?
MR. IP KWOK-CHUNG (in Cantonese):—Thank you, Mr. MAN. Regarding the close proximity of markets affecting each other's viability, one should note that in designing a market, a long lead time is required. The time gap between two markets could be the result of years of planning. A market is built after a series of public consultation and is not at the entire disposal of the Council or the Department. As the Council consists of Members representing public opinion, the location of these markets would normally receive support from the public. While there may be some instances where two markets are located too close to each other as to affect their viability, I believe through more constant liaison with stall operators and appropriate publicity, we can improve on the situation.
We will soon be stepping up our publicity with a view to improving the business of some of these stalls. This is a major issue that will be studied in more detail. I am sure Mr. MAN's suggestion will be further considered at the Select Committee meeting.
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MR. RONNIE WONG (in Cantonese):—Although the design of a market may have a bearing on its usage and occupancy rate, I think such problems are also closely related to the question of illegal hawking activities in the vicinity of a market. May I ask Mr. Ip whether the enforcement action against illegal hawkers in the vicinity of markets can be stepped up?
MR. IP KWOK-CHUNG (in Cantonese): Thank you, Mr. WONG. Regarding this question, I think all Council Members have been very concerned about this problem over the years. The matter has not only been discussed at the MST Select Committee meeting, but also in our annual debates and monthly meetings, Members have regularly expressed their views on the same topic. I can say that the Urban Council is now constantly working towards this direction. One important point is that we need to expand our manpower resources. We are seriously understaffed at the moment. Last year, we created more than 400 posts in the Hawker Control Officers grade. Through the filling of these additional posts, we would be able to take more enforcement action to prosecute illegal hawkers in the vicinity of our markets. This is a very important objective of this Council. Also, we will be considering how we can step up publicity in order to let the public understand the adverse effects caused by these illegal hawkers to the community, especially in terms of how they spoil the environment and how they pose unfair competition to the market stall operators. Through such publicity, we shall appeal to members of the public and ask them to go to do their shopping in our markets or shops instead of patronising these illegal hawkers. I can assure Mr. WONG again that we will continue to expand our manpower resources and step up training. Tomorrow we have already arranged a visit to see how the new Hawker Control Officers are trained. Through such incentive and through more additional resources, we hope to be able to ameliorate the problem of illegal hawkers step by step.
MR. CHAN NOI-YUE (in Cantonese): Thank you. I would like to respond what one Member had said earlier. She referred to the security problem in the Kowloon City Market. So far, the Kowloon City District Board has received no such complaints and I myself have not received any such complaints either. So, perhaps these are isolated incidents. Overall speaking, I think there is no serious problem in the law and order of our market.
MR. STEPHEN M. L. LAU (in Cantonese):—Mr. Chairman, through you, I would like to clarify two points with Mr. Ip. First of all, concerning the 85% occupancy rate and the 15% vacancy rate, does the 85% include poultry stalls or fish stalls? If the 15% only includes the small stalls on the upper floors, then there will be no serious financial implications. However, if the vacancies arise from the poultry stalls, then the financial implications might be more serious. I would like Mr. Ip to clarify this point.
Of the 15% vacant stalls, do they include the newly commissioned markets where the leasing of stalls are still pending? If these stalls are also included in the figure, then the figure is not so accurate.
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252
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
There are many reasons for stalls being left vacant. In the absence of proper studies, we do not know why these stalls are left vacant. In fact, after Members have raised the question today, I believe the Select Committee will certainly take the question more seriously and we also look forward to the arrival of 1 April 1996 when the problem of itinerary hawkers can be solved and we will be able to better understand what the actual vacancy rate is.
With regard to the question of location, I have already said that we will certainly conduct reviews including the intrinsic and extrinsic factors which account for the vacancy rates. The extrinsic factors are also very important because our past policy of resiting some of the hawkers in the past rendered some of the stalls very small in size, thus making them not so viable.
These are legacies of the past. After the last MST Select Committee meeting, we visited a new market, the Hung Hom Market to familiarise Members with the improved new design. If Members are interested about the design of our markets, I would be happy to arrange for a site visit to the Pei Ho Street Market which will be commissioned soon and where drastic improvements have also been achieved in terms of facilities and location.
THE HON. MAN SAI-CHEONG (in Cantonese):—Regarding the low occupancy rate of markets stalls, I think it has mainly to do with the issue of viability. If these stalls are viable, of course the occupancy rate will go up. What I am more concerned about is that after a market has been commissioned for a period of time and business is still bad, but the situation is aggravated by the commissioning of another similar UC market nearby. For example in Causeway Bay, whilst the Electric Road Market Complex is not so viable, the reconstructed Causeway Bay Market will be commissioned soon. As there must be some reasons for the non viability of some markets stalls in certain markets, I would like to ask whether the Department has identified the reasons for this and made some attempts to render such markets stalls more viable? If the answer is in the negative, what is the reason for not doing that?
MR. IP KWOK-CHUNG (in Cantonese):-Thank you, Mr. MAN. Regarding the close proximity of markets affecting each other's viability, one should note that in designing a market, a long lead time is required. The time gap between two markets could be the result of years of planning. A market is built after a series of public consultation and is not at the entire disposal of the Council or the Department. As the Council consists of Members representing public opinion, the location of these markets would normally receive support from the public. While there may be some instances where two markets are located too close to each other as to affect their viability, I believe through more constant liaison with stall operators and appropriate publicity, we can improve on the situation.
We will soon be stepping up our publicity with a view to improving the business of some of these stalls. This is a major issue that will be studied in more detail. I am sure Mr. MAN's suggestion will be further considered at the Select Committee meeting.
Page 20 of 485
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
253
MR. RONNIE WONG (in Cantonese):-Although the design of a market may have a bearing on its usage and occupancy rate, I think such problems are also closely related to the question of illegal hawking activities in the vicinity of a market. May I ask Mr. Ip whether the enforcement action against illegal hawkers in the vicinity of markets can be stepped up?
MR. IP KWOK-CHUNG (in Cantonese): Thank you, Mr. WONG. Regarding this question, I think all Council Members have been very concerned about this problem over the years. The matter has not only been discussed at the MST Select Committee meeting, but also in our annual debates and monthly meetings, Members have regularly expressed their views on the same topic. I can say that the Urban Council is now constantly working towards this direction. One important point is that we need to expand our manpower resources. We are seriously understaffed at the moment. Last year, we created more than 400 posts in the Hawker Control Officers grade. Through the filling of these additional posts, we would be able to take more enforcement action to prosecute illegal hawkers in the vicinity of our markets. This is a very important objective of this Council. Also, we will be considering how we can step up publicity in order to let the public understand the adverse effects caused by these illegal hawkers to the community, especially in terms of how they spoil the environment and how they pose unfair competition to the market stall operators. Through such publicity, we shall appeal to members of the public and ask them to go to do their shopping in our markets or shops instead of patronising these illegal hawkers. I can assure Mr. WONG again that we will continue to expand our manpower resources and step up training. Tomorrow we have already arranged a visit to see how the new Hawker Control Officers are trained. Through such incentive and through more additional resources, we hope to be able to amoliorate the problem of illegal hawkers step by step.
MR. CHAN NOI-YUE (in Cantonese): Thank you. I would like to respond what one Member had said earlier. She referred to the security problem in the Kowloon City Market. So far, the Kowloon City District Board has received no such complaints and I myself have not received any such complaints either. So, perhaps these are isolated incidents. Overall speaking, I think there is no serious problem in the law and order of our market.
MR. STEPHEN M. L. LAU (in Cantonese):-Mr. Chairman, through you, I would like to clarify two points with Mr. Ir. First of all, concerning the 85% occupancy rate and the 15% vacancy rate, does the 85% include poultry stalls or fish stalls? If the 15% only includes the small stalls on the upper floors, then there will be no serious financial implications. However, if the vacancies arise from the poultry stalls, then the financial implications might be more serious. I would like Mr. Ip to clarify this point.
Of the 15% vacant stalls, do they include the newly commissioned markets where the leasing of stalls are still pending? If these stalls are also included in the figure, then the figure is not so accurate.
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