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Infrastructure Development and Heritage Conservation

In the private domain, the CHO and the Antiquities and Monuments Office closely monitor any works or development of declared monuments and graded historic buildings and proactively engage owners of historic buildings to discuss possible preservation options. To help owners of historic buildings carry out maintenance works, the CHO approved grants for maintenance works at six privately-owned graded historic buildings in 2013.

Restoration and repair works were carried out on a number of historic buildings, including the Yan Tun Kong Study Hall in Ping Shan, Tang Kwong U Ancestral Hall in Kam Yin, Tang Chung Ling Ancestral Hall in Fanling, King Law Ka Shuk in Tai Po and St. John's Cathedral in Central. Archaeological investigations were carried out in Yuen Long, Sai Kung, Tuen Mun and Lamma Island to protect underground archaeological artefacts from damage during the building of village houses at those sites.

The Antiquities Advisory Board advises the government on matters relating to antiquities and monuments. So far, it has confirmed the grading of 1,2681 historic buildings to provide an objective basis for guiding future conservation efforts. In 2013, following the approval of the Chief Executive, the Béthanie in Pok Fu Lam, the Cenotaph in Central, Tat Tak Communal Hall in Ping Shan and Fat Tat Tong in Ha Wo Hang were declared as monuments in accordance with the Antiquities and Monuments Ordinance.

Greening, Landscape and Tree Management

The Greening, Landscape and Tree Management (GLTM) Section, consisting of the Greening and Landscape Office (GLO) and the Tree Management Office (TMO), was established under the Development Bureau's Works Branch in 2010 to champion a new, strategic policy on greening, landscape and tree management to achieve the sustainable development of a greener environment for Hong Kong. The GLO co-ordinates policy and departmental efforts on greening and landscape planning and design, while the TMO encourages high quality tree management among relevant departments and in the community at large.

The GLTM Section seeks to raise practitioners' professionalism and build up the industry's capacity by formulating standards and guidelines on relevant issues (such as adequate space allocation for new planting, proper selection of planting species, planting on footbridges and flyovers, tree preservation, and management of stonewall trees), commissioning research, promoting knowledge-sharing both locally and with overseas counterparts, facilitating manpower development through enhanced training, and raising the qualification requirements for contractors and contractor management.

To better protect public safety, the TMO's tree risk assessment arrangements for government departments were further refined in 2013.

The GLTM Section fosters a tree care culture and promotes public awareness of greening issues through community involvement and public education. The section's 'Be Our Greening Partner'

1 This figure includes items on the list of the territory's 1,444 historic buildings, and new items proposed for grading.

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