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1.
LCQ10: A derelict school site in Ap
Lei Chau
1. LCQ10: A derelict school site in Ap Lei Chau
Hong
Kong Government, 3 November 2004
Following
is a question by the Hon Alan Leong and a written reply by the Secretary
for Housing, Planning and Lands, Mr Michael Suen, in the Legislative
Council today (November 3):
Question:
It
is learnt that a piece of land in Ap Lei Chau zoned for "Government,
Institution or Community" uses and granted directly by way
of private treaty has been derelict since the relocation of a primary
school on that site in 1994, giving rise to the breeding of mosquitoes
and insects, as well as causing other environmental and hygiene
problems. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a)
whether it is waiting for the grantee of the above site to apply
for alteration of land use; if so, of the criteria to be adopted
in considering the application for rezoning the site to residential
or commercial uses;
(b)
why it has not yet resumed the land; and whether it will consider
enforcing the provisions in the land lease for immediate land resumption,
so as to improve the environmental and hygiene conditions of the
area; and
(c)
of the current number of pieces of land in the territory which were
granted directly by way of private treaty, have been derelict for
over 12 months, and which are zoned for "Government, Institution
or Community" uses or zoned for "Other Specified Uses"
for the provision of communal facilities, their locations and particulars
of grantees, and the reasons for not enforcing the land resumption
provisions in the land leases to protect public property and ensure
optimum use of land resource?
Reply:
Madam
President,
At
the outset, I wish to provide some basic information concerning
the lot cited in the question. The lot is Ap Lei Chau Inland Lot
No. 61, granted by Government by way of private treaty grant in
1941. According to the current land lease, the lot has been granted
for the purposes of "hostel and school" and "teaching
gardening" only. The lot has been zoned "Government, Institution
or Community" according to the draft Aberdeen & Ap Lei
Chau Outline Zoning Plan No. S/H15/20.
My
reply to the three-part question is as follow -
(a)
and (b) Currently, it is not necessary for the Administration to
process any request to rezone the lot as residential or commercial
uses. However, the grantee has submitted a number of proposals for
the use of the lot from time to time, including the latest proposal
to operate an Outdoor Education Centre at the site. Lands Department
(Lands D) is now awaiting the grantee's revised proposal for operating
the Outdoor Education Centre and has no immediate plan to recover
possession of the lot.
With
regard to the environmental and hygienic problems of the lot, Lands
D has written to the grantee requesting follow-up actions. A site
inspection by Lands D on 19 October 2004 revealed that there were
workers carrying out cleaning and refuse collection works.
(c)
"Other Specified Uses" is a planning concept and such
description is not used in land lease. According to the information
known to the Administration, besides the above-mentioned lot, there
are three other lots, granted by way of private treaty grant, which
have not been used for the specified uses in the land leases, for
12 months or above. The follow-up actions of the Administration
are as follows -
(1)
Tai Au Mun, Clearwater Bay: the lot was designated for use as a
non-profit-making home for the aged. The grantee has agreed to surrender
the lot, and the Administration has decided to grant it directly
to another grantee for operating a non-profit-making home for the
aged. The documentation is under preparation.
(2)
Kam Shan, Tai Po: the lot was designated for use as a primary school.
An application for surrender from the organization was received
in December 2002. Problems concerning legal procedure, government
rent and dangerous slope maintenance have been encountered and the
matter is in progress.
(3)
Area 4, Tai Po: the lot was designated for use as a swimming pool
complex with ancillary facilities. The grantee has obtained funding
from the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust funding for a redevelopment
project. The matter is in progress.
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