ENG-1962 — Page 218

LAND AND HOUSING

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and additions to existing buildings, site formation schemes, private streets and access roads, drainage works, demolitions and amend- ments to proposals already approved. During the year 597 permits were issued for occupation of new buildings, 395 being for residential purposes. Among the non-domestic buildings completed and occupied were 22 schools, 46 factories and workshops, 15 office blocks, four churches and chapels and three cinemas. Legislation. Several amendments were made during the year to the Building Regulations, the main points being the introduction of the Building (Demolition Works) Regulations, 1962, and the revision of certain of the Building (Planning) Regulations, 1956. The intensity of development created problems of all kinds and despite the fact there is a scarcity of suitable building land in the urban areas, it is clear that such densities are undesirable. Under the Building (Planning) Regulations, 1956, the intensity of development was controlled by means of the volume of a building calculated on street width and permissible wall heights. But under the provisions of the Building (Planning) (Amendment) (No 2) Regulations, 1962, the intensity of development is controlled by the use of 'plot ratio' and 'site coverage'. Provision is made for a sliding scale whereby the plot ratio increases as the building height increases, but at the same time the area of the site that can be covered by a building is reduced.

These regulations bring Hong Kong into line with the methods of high density control used in other large modern cities with a similar problem. Other provisions of the new regulations provide for an increase in the open space required around buildings, freer pedestrian circulation at ground level, and the raising of minimum standards of lighting and ventilation for offices and kitchens.

New Territories' Buildings. The revised Buildings Ordinance, 1955, which now applies to the New Territories, made special provision for the exemption from the need to submit to the Building Authority plans of small village buildings. Plans for these buildings continued to be handled by district officers.

Modern shops and tenement buildings in Tsuen Wan, Tai Po, Yuen Long, Shek Wu Hui and other market towns differ little from those in Hong Kong and Kowloon. Well-designed houses and bungalows are appearing in increasing numbers along the main roads to Fanling, Castle Peak and Clear Water Bay, as well