ENG-1966 — Page 175

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LAND AND HOUSING

regranted to the oil company as part of the same transaction, will be developed for high density residential use.

The property management section of the Crown Lands and Survey Office has undertaken the management of an increasing number of buildings on formerly leased lots which have reverted to the Crown. A further function has been the management of certain government piers, as well as the letting of accommodation in government build- ings to private persons and organizations. Among the premises so let is the ground floor of a multi-storey car park in Kowloon, which includes a 20-lane ten-pin bowling centre. The passage through Legislative Council of the Crown Lease (Pok Fu Lam) Ordinance 1966 will facilitate future land transactions in this area by the provision of a plan, replacing that attached to the original Crown Lease of 1893 and lost during the Japanese occupation, showing, by reference to existing records and such data as is available from other sources, the identification and delineation of Pok Fu Lam village lots.

Existing 10-year and 21-year leases to private bodies for the use of Crown Land for recreational purposes are due to expire in 1971-2. To advise whether these leases should be renewed on expiry, and also whether it would be desirable in the public interest to resite or amend the boundaries of individual existing private recrea- tion grounds, a committee was set up by the government and is still considering representations on these matters. The year also saw the appointment of a government working party to consider a proposal for a high-voltage electricity transmission system by means of overhead lines on Hong Kong Island. This system would be the first of its kind, although electricity is distributed at lower voltages by means of overhead lines in certain parts of the New Territories. In its report the working party included recommendations on the granting of wayleaves over Crown land for the installation of the necessary pylons and transmission lines and also expressed views on the possible effect on future land development.

Sales in the New Territories during 1966 included 68 acres for industrial use, two acres for high-density residential and commercial use and 36 acres for schools, hospitals, welfare projects, public utility undertakings, workers' housing, low-density residential use and minor miscellaneous land uses.