1 16 building plans approved in August

The Buildings Department approved 16 building plans in August - nine on Hong Kong Island, two in Kowloon and five in the New Territories.

Of the approved plans, nine were for apartment and apartment/commercial developments, one was for commercial developments, one was for factory and industrial developments and five were for community services developments.

In the same month, consent was given for work to start on 19 building projects that, when completed, will provide 382,905 square metres of gross floor area for domestic use, involving 5,064 units, and 77,211 square metres of gross floor area for non-domestic use. The department has received notification of commencement of work for 12 building projects.

The department also issued 18 occupation permits - five on Hong Kong Island, five in Kowloon and eight in the New Territories.

Of the buildings certified for occupation, the gross floor areas for domestic use were 25,839 square metres, involving 511 units, and 53,506 square metres for non-domestic use.

The declared cost of the new buildings completed in August totalled about $1.2 billion.

In addition, eight demolition consents involving eight building structures were issued.

The department received 2,106 complaints against unauthorised building works in August, and issued 2,334 removal orders on unauthorised building works.  In the same month, 2,133 orders/ advisory letters for removal of unauthorised building works were complied with.

The full version of the Monthly Digest for August can be viewed by members of the public on the Buildings Department's homepage (www.bd.gov.hk).

2 Urban renewal plan review in offing
Una So, The Standard 25 September 2007

An overhaul of the urban renewal strategy is in sight, including the hoped-for "compensation first" for projects with rundown conditions like the Nga Tsin Wai village.

Permanent Secretary for Development (planning and lands) Raymond Young Lap-moon of the Development Bureau told the Legislative Council yesterday that the review "is in sight."

"We have promised to do so. Right now we are consulting the authority's senior officials on when to begin a review, which will involve public consultation," Young said.

When the Urban Renewal Authority's profit of HK$2.3 billion for 2006-2007 was revealed, legislators suggested the ample reserve could allow a more lenient compensation for residents affected by redevelopment, and possibly acquiring the affected property before planning.

Billy Lam Chung-lun, URA managing director, attributed the authority's financial growth to improvement in the property market, and to property bought during the 2003 SARS period that since then rose sharply in value.

But Lam warned the rosy picture may change due to market fluctuation.

Out of the 225 redevelopment projects planned, only 32 have been announced.

The only two projects inherited from the authority's forerunner, the Lands Development Authority, pending announcement are the Nga Tsin Wai village and Mong Kok "Sneakers Street."

Young said they have an open attitude toward the "compensation first" idea, which may be realized in the 600-year-old Nga Tsin Wai village project to improve to the villagers' living condition as soon as possible.

Even though bureau chief Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor has talked about the possibility of "compensation first," the authority's documents presented to the Legco stated it would not be financially prudent to do so and may add risk to the project.

Lawmakers also suggested looking into exchanges of flats or stores, citing a Tai Hang Road redevelopment by a listed private developer having successfully using that method.

During the three-year development, flat owners signed up to become stakeholders and were handed rental money to stay somewhere else.

When the project was finished, they were given flats of similar size in the new building.

Lam said they have been studying an exchange of flats method and so far found it not workable since it may affect availability of public space and could be risky for the owners to take part in commercial development.

Before the meeting, dozens of residents from the various districts affected by redevelopment protested outside the Legco building in the midst of a squally thunderstorm, protesting the "acrimonious" offers by the authority.

Legislators said the policy has no consideration for the affected residents, who may be stranded in ramshackle condition years after the project announcement and the compensation so meager that they could not afford to live in the same neighborhood.

On the future of Wan Chai Market, Young said they are exploring the use of its hillside, including keeping the Grade III historic building while continuing with the developer's plan of erecting a residential tower.

3 Wan Chai Market facade may stay Plan to preserve part of Bauhaus structure
Helen Wu, SCMP 25 September 2007

The Urban Renewal Authority is looking into the possibility of preserving the facade of Wan Chai Market, according to a source close to the issue.

A residential block will be built on top of the three-storey market because of a requirement set down by the deed of mutual covenant, the source said.

"The covenant states the four buildings [of the Zenith development] must share the management fee together. If no building is to be built on the Wan Chai Market site, it will be unfair to the residents of the other three buildings," the source said.

The plan is one of the two options being considered by the authority. The other is to build a residential block on the hill next to the site, but this requires a change in land use which would have to be approved by the Town Planning Board.

Wan Chai Market, built in 1937, is believed to be one of only two well preserved markets in Bauhaus style left in the world. The other is in Phnom Penh. Architects and conservationists have urged the authority to preserve the block.

In 1997, property developer Chinese Estates Holdings formed a joint venture with the Land Development Corporation, the authority's predecessor, to redevelop the area. The project includes the Zenith development, which is supposed to comprise four blocks, including the one built at the Wan Chai Market site.

Raymond Young Lap-moon, permanent secretary for development, told a Legislative Council planning, lands and work meeting yesterday the government was considering ways to preserve the market.

A government source said keeping the facade was in line with the principle of heritage preservation.

But further studies would have to be conducted to see if the suggestion was technically feasible.

Architects who have been lobbying for the preservation of the market reacted positively to the proposal.

Bernard Lim Wan-fung, Chinese University's architecture professor and member of the Antiquities Advisory Board, said preserving the fa�ade of the market was better than having it demolished. "The market is too valuable to be knocked down," he said. "Of course the best is to have the whole structure preserved. But if not, keeping the facade is still better than not keeping it at all."

Wong Kam-sing, chairman of the Institute of Architects' board of local affairs, said that besides the facade, the authority should consider preserving the market's unique ventilation feature and use of daylight.

Ng Mee-kam, associate professor from the University of Hong Kong's centre of urban planning and environmental management, cautioned that the design of the residential block above should match the architectural style of the facade.

"I have seen preservation examples in Japan where the design of the building on top does not fit with the preserved facade underneath, the overall feeling of the whole block is quite awkward," she said.

Activist Ho Loy said the proposal was unacceptable. "The market is a building with distinctive architectural features. If its facade is to be preserved, the inner structure should also be maintained as it is now."