1998 — Page 198

Urban Council Proceedings 市政局議事錄 All AI Reviewed

Page 198 of 606

PROVISIONAL URBAN COUNCIL

195

streets. The programme has been delayed and the Lands Department has provided several reasons for its failure to resume 22 private streets. Apart from the four reasons cited by Mr. Wong Kwok-hing just now, the other reasons are that overhanging illegal structures are infringing into the street and that resumption of those private streets being redeveloped would result in liability for compensation. These various reasons have caused delay to the resumption of the 22 private streets. I hope that after the technical problems are solved, the programme to resume the private streets will proceed as soon as possible.

Lastly, I wish to point out in passing that we should not focus only on those private streets as we used to define. At this present stage the dirtiest places which are in urgent need of cleaning are probably alleys at the back of buildings. We can actually see from the "Healthy Living into the 21st Century' campaign, which is being promoted, the problem which has never been raised before and that is, the atrocious environmental condition in the alleys at the back of buildings. The programme has now been extended to these alleys, but unfortunately, it is rather cosmetic in nature. Cleansing services will be provided merely for two months and this can hardly solve the problem at the root. If one has to rely on anything, the Council is preferred to the 'Healthy Living into the 21st Century' campaign. We should extend cleansing services to the alleys at the back of buildings. There is a perpetual problem though and that is, the ownership is not clearly delineated. Some back alleys are ‘public alleys' while some are 'private alleys'. In some cases, within an area of some square feet there is a ‘private alley' within which there is yet a 'public alley`, while at the other end there might be another ‘private alley' belonging to a building. We must therefore rely on the erection of some notices by the Lands Department at these locations so that it would be more convenient for cleaners of the buildings and the USD or cleansing contractors to carry out their duties. The ownership should be delineated more clearly to facilitate cleaning. As for those poorly managed private alleys, they should be served with a "Notice on Abatement of Nuisance' and if the owners still fail to address the problem of cleanliness, they should be prosecuted. At the same time, private back alleys should be treated in the same way as private streets. After the ownership is clarified, if the private alleys which are also used by members of the public are still not properly managed, the Government should resume their ownership and management on the grounds that the public need to access to these alleys.

Mr. Chairman, with these remarks, I support the motion.

MR. ALBERT Lai Wing-lin (in Cantonese):—Mr. Chairman, we fully support the idea that the USD should be responsible for cleaning private streets which are used by members of the public, but the entrances to some of these private streets are either locked or fenced off. As Mr. WONG Kwok-hing pointed out just now, the entrance to Fort Street in North Point is fenced off, and the internal area is freely used by the owners. If the Department forced cleansing services upon it, the staff might not be welcomed and it might look as if the

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Page 198 of 606 PROVISIONAL URBAN COUNCIL 195 streets. The programme has been delayed and the Lands Department has provided several reasons for its failure to resume 22 private streets. Apart from the four reasons cited by Mr. Wong Kwok-hing just now, the other reasons are that overhanging illegal structures are infringing into the street and that resumption of those private streets being redeveloped would result in liability for compensation. These various reasons have caused delay to the resumption of the 22 private streets. I hope that after the technical problems are solved, the programme to resume the private streets will proceed as soon as possible. Lastly, I wish to point out in passing that we should not focus only on those private streets as we used to define. At this present stage the dirtiest places which are in urgent need of cleaning are probably alleys at the back of buildings. We can actually see from the "Healthy Living into the 21st Century' campaign, which is being promoted, the problem which has never been raised before and that is, the atrocious environmental condition in the alleys at the back of buildings. The programme has now been extended to these alleys, but unfortunately, it is rather cosmetic in nature. Cleansing services will be provided merely for two months and this can hardly solve the problem at the root. If one has to rely on anything, the Council is preferred to the 'Healthy Living into the 21st Century' campaign. We should extend cleansing services to the alleys at the back of buildings. There is a perpetual problem though and that is, the ownership is not clearly delineated. Some back alleys are ‘public alleys' while some are 'private alleys'. In some cases, within an area of some square feet there is a ‘private alley' within which there is yet a 'public alley`, while at the other end there might be another ‘private alley' belonging to a building. We must therefore rely on the erection of some notices by the Lands Department at these locations so that it would be more convenient for cleaners of the buildings and the USD or cleansing contractors to carry out their duties. The ownership should be delineated more clearly to facilitate cleaning. As for those poorly managed private alleys, they should be served with a "Notice on Abatement of Nuisance' and if the owners still fail to address the problem of cleanliness, they should be prosecuted. At the same time, private back alleys should be treated in the same way as private streets. After the ownership is clarified, if the private alleys which are also used by members of the public are still not properly managed, the Government should resume their ownership and management on the grounds that the public need to access to these alleys. Mr. Chairman, with these remarks, I support the motion. MR. ALBERT Lai Wing-lin (in Cantonese):—Mr. Chairman, we fully support the idea that the USD should be responsible for cleaning private streets which are used by members of the public, but the entrances to some of these private streets are either locked or fenced off. As Mr. WONG Kwok-hing pointed out just now, the entrance to Fort Street in North Point is fenced off, and the internal area is freely used by the owners. If the Department forced cleansing services upon it, the staff might not be welcomed and it might look as if the Page 198 of 606 Page 198 of 606 Page 198 of 606

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Page 198 of 606 PROVISIONAL URBAN COUNCIL 195 streets. The programme has been delayed and the Lands Department has provided several reasons for its failure to resume 22 private streets. Apart from the four reasons cited by Mr. Wong Kwok-hing just now, the other reasons are that overhanging illegal structures are infringing into the street and that resumption of those private streets being redeveloped would result in liability for compensation. These various reasons have caused delay to the resumption of the 22 private streets. I hope that after the technical problems are solved, the programme to resume the private streets will proceed as soon as possible. Lastly, I wish to point out in passing that we should not focus only on those private streets as we used to define. At this present stage the dirtiest places which are in urgent need of cleaning are probably alleys at the back of buildings. We can actually see from the "Healthy Living into the 21st Century' campaign, which is being promoted, the problem which has never been raised before and that is, the atrocious environmental condition in the alleys at the back of buildings. The programme has now been extended to these alleys, but unfortunately, it is rather cosmetic in nature. Cleansing services will be provided merely for two months and this can hardly solve the problem at the root. If one has to rely on anything, the Council is preferred to the 'Healthy Living into the 21st Century' campaign. We should extend cleansing services to the alleys at the back of buildings. There is a perpetual problem though and that is, the ownership is not clearly delincated. Some back alleys are ‘public alleys' while some are 'private alleys'. In some cases, within an area of some square feet there is a ‘private alley' within which there is yet a 'public alley`. while at the other end there might be another ‘private alley' belonging to a building. We must therefore rely on the erection of some notices by the Lands Department at these locations so that it would be more convenient for cleaners of the buildings and the USD or cleansing contractors to carry out their duties. The ownership should be delineated more clearly to facilitate cleaning. As for those poorly managed private alleys, they should be served with a "Notice on Abatement of Nuisance' and if the owners still fail to address the problem of cleanliness, they should be prosecuted. At the same time, private back alleys should be treated in the same way as private streets. After the ownership is clarified, if the private alleys which are also used by members of the public are still not properly managed, the Government should resume their ownership and management on the grounds that the public need to access to these alleys. Mr. Chairman, with these remarks, I support the motion. MR. ALBERT Lai Wing-lin (in Cantonese):—Mr. Chairman, we fully support the idea that the USD should be responsible for cleaning private streets which are used by members of the public, but the entrances to some of these private streets are either locked or fenced off. As Mr. WONG Kwok-hing pointed out just now, the entrance to Fort Street in North Point is fenced off, and the internal area is freely used by the owners. If the Department forced cleansing services upon it, the staff might not be welcomed and it might look as if the Page 198 of 606 Page 198 of 606 Page 198 of 60€

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PROVISIONAL URBAN COUNCIL

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Lastly, I wish to point out in passing that we should not focus only on those private streets as we used to define. At this present stage the dirtiest places which are in urgent need of cleaning are probably alleys at the back of buildings. We can actually see from the "Healthy Living into the 21st Century' campaign, which is being promoted, the problem which has never been raised before and that is, the atrocious environmental condition in the alleys at the back of buildings. The programme has now been extended to these alleys, but unfortunately, it is rather cosmetic in nature. Cleansing services will be provided merely for two months and this can hardly solve the problem at the root. If one has to rely on anything, the Council is preferred to the 'Healthy Living into the 21st Century' campaign. We should extend cleansing services to the alleys at the back of buildings. There is a perpetual problem though and that is, the ownership is not clearly delincated. Some back alleys are ‘public alleys' while some are 'private alleys'. In some cases, within an area of some square feet there is a ‘private alley' within which there is yet a 'public alley`. while at the other end there might be another ‘private alley' belonging to a building. We must therefore rely on the erection of some notices by the Lands Department at these locations so that it would be more convenient for cleaners of the buildings and the USD or cleansing contractors to carry out their duties. The ownership should be delineated more clearly to facilitate cleaning. As for those poorly managed private alleys, they should be served with a "Notice on Abatement of Nuisance' and if the owners still fail to address the problem of cleanliness, they should be prosecuted. At the same time, private back alleys should be treated in the same way as private streets. After the ownership is clarified, if the private alleys which are also used by members of the public are still not properly managed, the Government should resume their ownership and management on the grounds that the public need to access to these alleys.

Mr. Chairman, with these remarks, I support the motion.

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