ENG-1971 — Page 185

LAND AND HOUSING

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provided for primary school accommodation and in the latest blocks provision has been made for self-contained kindergarten accommo- dation. Some estates have community centres and, in the new ones, the tendency is to concentrate ancillary services into separate build- ings for welfare services, restaurants and administration.

Provision is also made for the small factories which are often found in squatter areas or in areas under annual Crown land permits. To enable the operators of these factories to continue earning a livelihood when these areas are cleared for permanent development, multi-storey resettlement factory blocks have been built. Because of the need to use a simple design to keep construction costs, and there- fore rents, as low as possible, a number of trades are not allowed in the multi-storey factory blocks and consequently some factories can be resettled only if the owners are willing to change their trades.

The latest factory blocks are seven storeys high and have units of 256 square feet. At the end of the year there were 22 resettlement flatted factory blocks, containing a total of 1,860,000 square feet of net working space, most situated in or near existing resettlement estates. Rents are calculated to cover administrative costs and a return on capital within 21 years at five per cent interest. In the latest factories these rents vary from 55 cents a square foot a month for a ground floor unit to 25 cents for one on the top floor, all rents being inclusive of rates.

Fourteen cottage resettlement areas still remain in various parts of the urban area and the New Territories. The population of these areas has diminished as clearance for development continues and the occupants are resettled in multi-storey estates. However, cottage areas still house 51,953 people. Several of these areas contain many small factories, shops and workshops, together with schools, clinics and welfare centres of various types largely established by voluntary agencies which generously continue to maintain these facilities.

The Housing Authority manages government low-cost housing estates on behalf of the Government. These estates are built by the Public Works Department, and all capital and recurrent expenditure is met from government revenue. The first of these was completed and taken over for management early in 1963. At the end of 1971, 15 estates accommodating 258,373 people were under manage- ment. Seven projects are under development and, on completion, 127,538 people will be added to the population of government low- cost housing estates.

The authority is also to manage the new Pak Tin government estate which in essence will be a resettlement estate brought up to