Minutes of the Fourteenth Meeting ofCentral and Western District Council

Date : 10 May 2018 (Thursday)

Time : 2:30 pm

Venue : Conference Room 14/F, Harbour Building 38 Pier Road, Central, Hong Kong

Present:

ChairmanMr YIP Wing-shing, BBS, MH, JP (2:30 pm – 5:47 pm)

Vice-chairmanMr CHAN Hok-fung, MH, JP*

MembersMr CHAN Chit-kwai, Stephen, BBS, JP (2:30 pm – 6:02 pm)Mr CHAN Choi-hi, MH (2:30 pm – 6:17 pm)Ms CHENG Lai-king (2:32 pm – end of the meeting)Mr CHEUNG Kwok-kwan, JP (4:08 pm – 4:54 pm)Mr HUI Chi-fung (2:30 pm – 4:53 pm)Mr KAM Nai-wai, MH*Mr LEE Chi-hang, Sidney, MH*Miss LO Yee-hang, MH (2:30 pm – 3:47 pm and

4:52 pm – end of the meeting)Ms NG Hoi-yan, Bonnie*Mr NG Siu-hong*Mr YEUNG Hoi-wing*Mr YEUNG Hok-ming*Mr YOUNG Chit-on, Jeremy*

Remarks: * Members who attended the whole meeting( ) Time of attendance of Members

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Item 5 (i)

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Mr LEE Hong-nin, Robin Chief Assistant Secretary (Works) 2, Development BureauMs LEE Hoi-lun, Leonie Assistant Secretary (Heritage Conservation) 3, Development

BureauMr CHU Ho, Larry Assistant Secretary (Harbour) 1, Development BureauMr Leong CHEUNG Executive Director, Charities and Community, The Hong

Kong Jockey ClubMr John TANG Executive Manager, Public Affairs (CPS & Projects), The

Hong Kong Jockey ClubMr Timothy CALNIN Director of CPS, The Jockey Club CPS LimitedMr George CHAN Head of Operations, The Jockey Club CPS LimitedMs Katty LAW Convenor, Central and Western Concern Group

Item 5 (ii) Mr Wilfred AU Director (Planning and Design), Urban Renewal AuthorityMr Christopher WONG General Manager (Planning and Design), Urban Renewal

AuthorityMs Katty LAW Convenor, Central and Western Concern Group

Item 6Mr Wilfred AU Director (Planning and Design), Urban Renewal AuthorityMr Mike KWAN General Manager (Planning and Design), Urban Renewal

Authority

Item 7 Mr FUNG Chi-hung Senior Telecommunications Engineer (Spectrum Planning) 2,

Office of the Communications Authority

Item 8 Ms YEUNG Wing-shan, Grace Senior Executive Officer (District Council), Central and

Western District OfficeMs BOOK King-shun, Emma Executive Officer I (District Council), Central and Western

District OfficeMiss SUM Sze-yan, Cyan Executive Officer (District Council) 4, Central and Western

District Office

Item 9 Ms LIM Ting-ting, Sylvia District Leisure Manager (Central & Western), Leisure and

Cultural Services DepartmentMs SIU Tak-yee, Clara Manager (HK Park), Leisure and Cultural Services

Department

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Mr LEE Tze-wah District Environmental Hygiene Superintendent (Central/Western), Food and Environmental Hygiene Department

Mr CHEUNG Ka-yun Head (Rodent Risk Assessment & Advisory Unit), Food and Environmental Hygiene Department

In Attendance:

Mr LUI Kam-ho District Commander (Central District), Hong Kong Police Force

Mr LEUNG Yin-man Police Community Relation Officer (Central District), Hong Kong Police Force

Mr TSANG Lap-kuen Senior Engineer/8 (S), Civil Engineering and Development Department

Mr LEE Tze-wah District Environmental Hygiene Superintendent (Central/Western), Food and Environmental Hygiene Department

Ms LIM Ting-ting, Sylvia District Leisure Manager (Central & Western), Leisure and Cultural Services Department

Mr LEUNG Kwok-man, Lautrec Senior Transport Officer/Central & Western, Transport Department

Mrs WONG HO Wing-sze, Susanne, JP

District Officer (Central and Western)

Ms WONG Suet-yi, Penny Assistant District Officer (Central and Western)Mr MOK Chi-kin, Jiv Senior Executive Officer (District Management), Central and

Western District OfficeMs BOOK King-shun, Emma Executive Officer I (District Council), Central and Western

District Office

SecretaryMs YEUNG Wing-shan, Grace Senior Executive Officer (District Council), Central and

Western District Office

Opening Remarks

The Chairman welcomed all to the fourteenth meeting of the Central and Western District Council (C&WDC), in particular Mr TSANG Lap-kuen, Senior Engineer/8 (S) of the Civil Engineering and Development Department, who attended the meeting for the first time.

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3. As there were quite a number of items on the agenda for consideration at the meeting, it was proposed that the time for each speaking by a Member be limited to three minutes to facilitate efficiency. Second round follow-up questions and comments by Members would depend on the availability of time. Members were also reminded to declare interests as necessary and appropriate.

5. The Chairman said that the Secretariat was informed by the Vice-chairman before the meeting of his request to make an oral statement. Under Standing Order No. 30 of the Central and Western District Council Standing Orders (Standing Orders), a member who wished to make an oral statement at a meeting should inform the Secretary before the meeting, but the oral statement should not take more than five minutes. The Chairman said that he would not respond to oral statements, and Members’ response was also not required. He invited the Vice-chairman to make his oral statement.

7. The Vice-chairman said that he had earlier made a request to the Chairman for moving a motion at this Council meeting to censure Mr HUI Chi-fung, but regrettably the motion had failed to secure sufficient number of supporters. He remarked that Mr HUI snatched a government officer's mobile phone in the Legislative Council (LegCo) on 25 April 2018. The incident had seriously affected the reputation and image of the C&WDC. The Vice-chairman had therefore requested a motion to censure Mr HUI in accordance with the Standing Orders and appealed to Members, irrespective of their political affiliation, to sign a joint petition at the third special meeting of the C&WDC held on 30 April. He considered that the incident was an issue concerning right or wrong as well as a criminal offence, and Members should uphold the image of the C&WDC. He said it was a pity that the matter had failed to secure sufficient number of supporters. Members belonging to the Democratic Party did not participate in the joint petition, resulting in failure to secure sufficient number of signatures for moving the motion. The Vice-chairman had subsequently submitted a paper on Mr HUI's incident, hoping that it could be discussed at this meeting. However, the Chairman's reply was that as the paper submission deadline for Members had already passed and the paper concerned had no urgency for discussion, it would be discussed at the meeting to be held in July 2018. While respecting the Chairman's decision, the Vice-chairman considered it necessary to express indignation at and dissatisfaction with Mr HUI. He said that as public servant, LegCo member and C&WDC member, Mr HUI was acting on behalf of the Council when he engaged in such conduct, which had seriously affected the image of the C&WDC. Mr HUI also put the blame on others, seeking to divert attention by infringing the property and privacy of others. The Vice-chairman reckoned that Mr HUI’s behaviour had tarnished the image of the C&WDC as a whole. He hoped that Mr HUI could apologise to the public again and sincerely cooperate with the Police for follow-up on such conduct. He said that the image of the Council was ruined and beyond recovery. He hoped that Members would condemn such conduct which infringed the privacy and property of others.

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Item 1: Adoption of the Agenda(2:33 pm – 2:36 pm)

9. The Chairman said that the standing item “Progress report on Urban Renewal Authority’s project in Central & Western District – Queen’s Road West/In Ku Lane Development Scheme” and the discussion item “Concern over Queen’s Road West/In Ku Lane Development Scheme of Urban Renewal Authority” were related, and representatives attending for discussion of the standing item had other official engagement. To facilitate their attendance, the Chairman agreed to reshuffle the agenda order and advance the said discussion item to Item 6 for combined discussion with the standing item. He enquired whether Members had any views on the agenda, and if not, he suggested adoption of the agenda.

11. Mr HUI Chi-fung said that he had submitted a motion paper titled "June 4th Incident" early this year for discussion at this meeting. He later received a reply from the Chairman saying that the paper concerned would not be allowed to be discussed at the meeting. He hoped the Chairman would give the grounds for rejection.

13. The Chairman said that on 30 January 2018, the Secretariat received a proposed agenda item and paper on "June 4th Incident" from Mr HUI Chi-fung. Mr HUI requested that the said item and paper be included in the agenda of this meeting for discussion. The Chairman wrote to Mr HUI on 2 May setting out the decision as follows:

“Under Standing Order No. 6(5), the Chairman shall approve the agenda for a meeting of the Council and shall ensure that items included in the agenda are compatible with the functions of the Council as laid down in section 61 of the District Councils Ordinance. Also, under Standing Order No. 16, a motion’s subject matter and terms must be compatible with the functions of the Council. For the Council meeting held on 10 May 2018, I have decided, after consideration, not to allow the inclusion of the paper on "June 4th Incident" on the agenda in accordance with the above Standing Orders.”

15. Mr HUI Chi-fung said that the Chairman had made a similar ruling last year. At the time, the Chairman said that the ruling involved consideration of other Members’ preferences. He enquired whether the Chairman had also considered other Members’ preferences in his ruling this time.

17. The Chairman responded that he had made clear the relevant Standing Orders and had nothing to add.

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19. There being no further comment from Members, the agenda was adopted.

Item 2: Confirmation of the Minutes of the 13th C&WDC Meeting held on 8 March 2018(2:36 pm)

21. T he Chairman said that the Secretariat had sent the draft minutes of the thirteenth C&WDC meeting to Members on 27 April by e-mail. The Secretariat had not received any amendment proposal to the draft minutes from Members before the meeting. Members had no comment on the draft minutes of the thirteenth meeting and the Chairman declared that the minutes were confirmed.

Item 3: Action Checklist on Matters Arising from the 13th C&WDC Meeting (C&W DC Paper No. 44/2018) (2:36 pm)

23. T he Chairman referred Members to the checklist for the progress of follow-up of different items.

Item 4: Chairman’s Report(2:36 pm)

25. The Chairman had nothing particular to highlight.

Item 5(i): Conserving Central (C&W DC Paper No. 45/2018) (2:36 pm – 4:06 pm)

27. The Chairman welcomed representatives of the Development Bureau (DEVB), The Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC), The Jockey Club CPS Limited (JCCPS), and the Central and Western Concern Group (CWCG) to the meeting. He said that the DEVB had submitted a paper on the item, and invited its representatives to present the paper.

29. Mr LEE Hong-nin , Chief Assistant Secretary (Works) 2 of the DEVB, reported on the latest progress of the “Conserving Central” projects:

(a) Central Police Station Compound (Tai Kwun): The project was taken forward by

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the Government in partnership with the HKJC. He expressed gratitude to the HKJC for its commitment in the revitalisation project, and said that the HKJC targetted to open some of the facilities of Tai Kwun for public enjoyment in this late May. On 20 April 2018, the HKJC arranged for Members to visit the facilities of Tai Kwun to understand the project progress. On 23 April 2018, representatives of the Government and the HKJC gave a detailed briefing on future operational details of the project, progress of the works on the footbridge and impact on traffic nearby at the Working Group on Concern over the Development of the Central Police Station Compound and Former Police Married Quarters of the C&WDC. Members of the working group were generally satisfied with the overall project progress.

(b) Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui (HKSKH)’s Central Compound: In light of Members’ concern on the traffic impact of the project, the DEVB had submitted the design illustration of the pick-up/drop-off and parking area for vehicles within the hospital at the thirteenth meeting of the C&WDC. The DEVB had requested the HKSKH to take into account Members’ views when working out the relevant arrangements. He said that the HKSKH was consolidating its proposal, and would assess the impacts on traffic, visual, air ventilation and historic buildings to be brought by its proposal.

(c) Former Central Government Offices (CGO): On 25 April 2018, the Director of Administration and Development of the Department of Justice (DoJ) led a visit to the completed Main and East Wings for Members to understand the utilisation of the premises, and updated Members on the progress of the renovation works for the West Wing. In light of Members’ views on the West Wing, the DoJ had introduced facilities and arrangements for the benefit of the public, including the construction of a new passenger lift opening 24 hours a day to allow a separate means of access by the public to the public open space at 7/F level from the ground floor facing Queen’s Road Central, and provision of a publicly-accessible heritage corridor on 7/F of West Wing. The corridor would provide space for display of items with heritage value in the former CGO. He said that the DoJ had reduced its office area at 7/F West Wing to widen the publicly-accessible heritage corridor whereby the public could have a more spacious passageway and area to enjoy the items displayed thereat.

(d) Murray Building: The building had been converted into a hotel, The Murray. A visit by Members to the hotel was arranged on 20 April 2018 for them to learn about its layout and transport connection with adjoining areas. Members also learned that the hotel had no impact on the traffic nearby.

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31. Mr John TANG , Executive Manager of Public Affairs (CPS & Projects) of the HKJC, said that the works at Tai Kwun had been substantially completed, and the HKJC was progressively taking forward the preparatory work for its operation. Following Members’ visit to Tai Kwun in April 2018, the HKJC had also arranged a visit by Hong Kong media to Tai Kwun on 9 May 2018. He said that the HKJC would like to introduce the operational arrangements of Tai Kwun at the meeting and listen to Members’ views.

33. Mr Leong CHEUNG , Executive Director, Charities and Community of the HKJC, said that the whole revitalisation project for the Central Police Station (CPS) Compound (also known as Tai Kwun) was close to completion. After revitalisation, Tai Kwun would be open on 25 May 2018 and open to the public in phases from 29 May onwards. He said that the CPS Compound was built since the 1840s and had undergone various alterations. The compound was exceptional in that it comprised three groups of declared monuments, namely the police station, judiciary and prison. He said that the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust (HKJCCT) provided financial support for community projects. In recent years, the HKJCCT focused on four major areas, namely youth, elderly, sports, and arts, culture and heritage. In respect of arts, culture and heritage, he said that Tai Kwun provided a unique platform for the simultaneous promotion of (i) capacity building and infrastructure; (ii) audience building; (iii) social inclusion; and (iv) heritage revitalisation. On audience building, he said that Tai Kwun used to be heavily guarded and locked up. Now it was open to the public and had barrier-free access for those in need. He said that the HKJCCT’s vision was to put Tai Kwun to adaptive re-use after preservation, with a view to making it Hong Kong’s largest heritage project and presenting the best operation approach for heritage conservation, as well as providing a one-of-a-kind centre for development, appreciation and promotion of arts. He hoped that the opening of Tai Kwun was not the end of the project’s conservation process, but also the beginning of a conservation culture and learning process. He would like to learn, in a humble manner, conservation culture together with all stakeholders. He also pointed out that many experts and members of the public had participated in the revitalisation process, and hoped that communication and exchange with all stakeholders could continue in the future. He said that apart from old buildings, there were also two new buildings in the compound mainly used as arts exhibition and performance venue.

35. Mr Leong CHEUNG of the HKJC said that when the HKJC gained access to the site to commence the revitalisation project in 2011, the whole compound was in unsatisfactory conditions as it had been vacant for some time. Moreover, as many original plans could no longer be found, a conservation proposal was required for each location within the compound. Hence, huge investment and plenty of time were required to complete the project. He said that Tai Kwun was a fusion of heritage and art. The project consisted of 16 historic buildings and two new buildings designed by Herzog & de Meuron. He said that Tai Kwun was

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approximately 13 000 square metres on plan and the construction floor area was about 28 000 square metres, with outdoor space of 4 000 square metres. He thanked the Government for its vision to turn a site of high commercial value in Central into a conservation project. He said that about 37% of the construction floor area (excluding outdoor space) would be used for heritage and art purposes, about 36% would be used for building services and public access routes, and the remaining 27% would be for restaurants and shops. He said that it was essential to provide places for meals and leisure for visitors. Moreover, some sort of income was required for the sustainable development of the whole compound. He stressed that most of the space thereof was used for heritage and art purposes. He said that members of the public would be introduced of the project’s ten hot spots at the opening ceremony, most of which had been visited by Members earlier. 37. Mr Leong CHEUNG of the HKJC continued by showing the timetable of opening on PowerPoint slides. He said that the blue part, including the Police Headquarters Block, Barrack Block, Ablutions Block, Superintendent’s House, Halls A to F, Bauhinia House, JC Contemporary, JC Cube, Parade Ground and Prison Yard, would be open to the public in May 2018, and all exhibition and art space thereat would be open. The orange part, including the Armoury, Married Sergeants’ Quarters, Single Inspectors’ Quarters and Former Central Magistracy was targetted for opening later in 2018. He said that for the Married Sergeants’ Quarters, there would be artists working on site subsequent to its revitalisation and opening. The Married Inspectors’ Quarters which partially collapsed in 2016 had been separated from other buildings and enclosed. Opening up of other areas would not pose safety risks to the public. He said that the incident had been reported at previous meetings of the C&WDC and discussion had been held with the Antiquities Advisory Board (AAB) on the matter. The HKJC was at the final design stage and expected to consult AAB again in September 2018. Once the proposal was confirmed, it was hoped that construction could commence in the first or second quarter of 2019. The works was estimated to take one to two years to complete before the quarters could be open to the public.

39. Mr Timothy CALNIN , Director of CPS of the JCCPS, thanked the Chairman for the opportunity to present the progress update of the project. He said that he shared information on Tai Kwun with the media on 9 May 2018 and there was related media coverage. At this meeting, his briefing would focus on the role of Tai Kwun in the community. He said that Tai Kwun was uniquely located in a densely populated area, and efforts would be made to minimise the impact on the neighbourhood when it came into operation. He continued that programmes and events would centre on three areas, namely heritage, contemporary art and performing arts, with focus on the community. This included stories told by the locals detailing interaction between their lives and Tai Kwun. Besides, inter-generational programmes were also offered, such as an event that brought together a group of secondary students and elderly in the district to discover traditional food restaurants in the Central and

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Western District. He said that their staff also paid visits to former police officers who had worked at the Central Police Station, as well as residents and shop owners in the neighbourhood to listen to stories of their lives intertwined with the CPS. These oral histories provided the exhibition materials for Tai Kwun’s inaugural exhibition, "100 Faces of Tai Kwun". He said that this was a very imaginative and effective approach to let the audience know how people who lived or worked in the neighbourhood thought of Tai Kwun and what Tai Kwun meant to them. The exhibition would be held at the Police Headquarters Block facing Hollywood Road. In the field of contemporary art, he was aware that the art might be a complex thing to understand for some audience members. Hence, activities which were more comprehensible would be offered, such as holding of artists’ book fair at different locations to enable members of the public to leaf through artists’ books and work. Furthermore, he said that Tai Kwun also offered performing arts programmes spanning across different art forms, such as music, dance, theatre, etc. These performances would be staged in various locations in Tai Kwun, including the two performance venues which Members had visited earlier. In addition, local composer/songwriter Ms Vicky FUNG was invited to lead a group of youths to understand the history of the Central and Western District and gather the stories of the elderly in the neighbourhood. Their feelings and thoughts would be converted into songs. The activity aimed to bring together two generations and transform their personal experiences into art form.

41. On staff recruitment of Tai Kwun, Mr Timothy CALNIN of the JCCPS said that with the assistance of the Central and Western District Office (C&WDO), enthusiastic and experienced staff were recruited from the district, including receptionists, ticketing staff, docents, visitor experience team staff, etc. These staff members were receiving training. Mr CALNIN continued that as mentioned earlier, Tai Kwun would feature a wide range of heritage, contemporary art and performing arts programmes. There were eight permanent heritage interpretation rooms to feature the history of the compound mapped against the history of Hong Kong and the world over 170 years. Besides, information on the design and character of individual buildings in the compound were provided for visitors to learn about the architectures. In respect of arts exhibition, there were two exhibitions with extremely strong Hong Kong element. One of them would be organised by young artist Winky SO. She grew up in the neighbourhood of Soho area adjacent to Tai Kwun, and her parents were operating a Chinese medicine shop in Soho area for many years. Hence, her work could reflect traditional Hong Kong elements. For education programmes, Mr CALNIN said that apart from a wide range of school focused education activities for students to learn about the history of the compound, adult education would also be offered to enhance public knowledge of arts and develop their appreciation of the heritage.

43. In respect of business operations, Mr Timothy CALNIN of the JCCPS said that Tai Kwun would have restaurants and retail shops. Apart from paying rent to enable the project’s

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financial sustainability, shops would be required to interact and cooperate with Tai Kwun in organising innovative and interesting events, so as to ensure lively programmes running throughout the year. He said that Tai Kwun would feature the “100 Faces of Tai Kwun” exhibition at its opening. There would also be free arts programmes for families and members of the public on weekdays and at selected weekends. He said that they hoped to promote public knowledge and appreciation of culture by contributing to the community, so most of the exhibitions and programmes would be free of charge.

45. Mr Timothy CALNIN of the JCCPS continued that the compound was used to be a confined place not open for public visit. It was thus a challenging task for the architects to transform it into a place highly accessible to the public. He was aware of the high level of public expectation for visiting the site, but at the same time had to be mindful to avoid causing disturbance to residents in the neighbourhood. Hence, for visitor flow management, they introduced the Tai Kwun Pass. Members of the public could apply for a free Tai Kwun Pass via the Tai Kwun official website or mobile application (app) in advance, so as to minimise nuisance caused to the neighbouring community by visitor queues. Given the need to learn more about the operations and its impact on traffic from the implementation experience, he said that soon after its opening, only those holding Tai Kwun Pass could enter the site. Starting from 18 June 2018, they would gradually increase capacity by issuing a larger number of Tai Kwun Pass, and depending on the circumstances, allow people without a Tai Kwun Pass to come in. He stressed that they had to keep an eye on public safety, site conservation and smooth visitor experience. According to the study on visitor flow management conducted earlier by Tai Kwun, Tai Kwun could not have more than 7 000 visitors at any one time. They planned to have a capacity of 5 000 visitors at any one time.

47. Regarding the venue, Mr Timothy CALNIN of the JCCPS briefed the meeting about the supporting facilities and signs at the site, and said that a digital system was in place to guide visitors along the tour route. In addition, he had asked the app developer to simplify the Tai Kwun app so that the public would not find it hard to use or to prevent the app from crashing due to too many users. He also said that in order to provide a peaceful environment for all to enjoy and be respectful of the heritage nature of the site and rights of fellow visitors, staff would be deployed to advise visitors to keep voice to a minimum at all times and observe code of behaviours. He stressed that they did not intend to establish a list of rules to bind visitors, but hoped that visitors could show mutual understanding.

49. Mr Leong CHEUNG , Director of the HKJC, thanked the C&WDC and the C&WDO for their concern and continuous support and assistance, and said that the HKJC would continue to listen to suggestions and input at the district level. Mr Leong CHEUNG continued that previews of Tai Kwun were being organised. Prior to its official opening on 25 May, residents would be invited to visit Tai Kwun on 20 May and invitation cards had been issued.

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It was hoped that Members and neighbouring residents could participate in the event to have a preview of the site before its official opening.

51. The Chairman thanked Mr Leong CHEUNG and Mr Timothy CALNIN for their detailed presentation. He then invited Mr LUI Kam-ho, District Commander (Central District), to brief the meeting on the relocation of Police Services Centre, Central District.

53. Mr LUI Kam-ho, District Commander (Central District), said that upon opening of Tai Kwun, the Police Services Centre, Central District would be relocated there to continue its service. The existing centre at 149 Queen’s Road Central would be closed at 2 am on 29 May, and the new centre at Shop LG 205, Block 1, Tai Kwun would be in service at 5 am on the same day. Entrance of the Police Services Centre was at Hollywood Road and the service hour remained unchanged. The Police had informed the public and community stakeholders about the relocation through various channels. They had also produced a leaflet on the relocation and uploaded it to the Police’s public website. The leaflet concerned was tabled. Mr LUI appealed to Members to assist in displaying the leaflet at their ward offices and distributing it to the public to inform them about the relocation of the Police Services Centre, Central District.

55. The Chairman invited Ms Katty LAW of the CWCG to speak on the Conserving Central projects. Ms LAW said that according to the briefing by the HKJC, works on the Married Inspectors’ Quarters (Block 4) which partially collapsed in 2016 would commence after the HKJC confirmed the recovery proposal. Ms LAW opined that neither the public nor the C&WDC had been given the opportunity for full participation in working out the recovery proposal for and future use of the Married Inspectors’ Quarters. Ms LAW said that since the collapse incident to date, she believed that there had been internal discussion within the HKJC and a final decision might have already been made. However, she was still uncertain of how the recovery works would be carried out and about the design and intended future use, such as whether it would be converted to shops or for public uses. Ms LAW said that the Married Inspectors’ Quarters was one of the oldest buildings of Tai Kwun. She felt sorry about its collapse and believed that there was public concern about the recovery proposal of the building. She urged the HKJC to expeditiously inform the public and the C&WDC of the latest progress of the project and even involve the public and the C&WDC in the discussion. Regarding the former CGO project, Ms LAW said that the Government Hill Concern Group had been in liaison with the DoJ and the Architectural Services Department, and welcomed the departments’ act of responding to needs of the local community and revising the design. For example, a coffee shop was provided at the covered plaza of West Wing for people to take a rest. The Government Hill Concern Group hoped that, where space allowed, toilets or other handwashing facilities could be provided to cater for the practical needs of the public, emphasising that the facilities were important for public enjoyment of open space. Ms LAW

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continued that the projects under Conserving Central were inter-related, in particular the areas within old Government Hill and Bishop Hill. She said that there were proposals in the past to redevelop the old buildings within the said areas into 40 to 50-storey skyscrapers, convert Tai Kwun into bamboo shed, and redevelop West Wing of former CGO into a 30 to 40-storey commercial building. Fortunately, the Government finally understood that no tall buildings should be built in conserving old town district. Riding on the re-opening and commissioning of Tai Kwun and the three buildings in the former CGO Complex, the CWCG reiterated its opposition to the construction of a 25-storey mega private hospital on Bishop Hill. Ms LAW hoped that the C&WDC or government departments could make a realistic estimation of traffic flow in the area. She considered that independent and continuous traffic assessment was very important to the area, and there should be no rush to build a mega private hospital before the assessment was completed. She was concerned that people and vehicular flows brought by the hospital would seriously affect the area’s living environment.

57. The Chairman invited views from Members.

(a) Mr YEUNG Hoi-wing welcomed the upcoming opening of Tai Kwun. He learned from the briefing by the HKJC that members of the public intending to visit Tai Kwun during the first phase must apply for a pass via website or mobile app in advance. He asked whether the HKJC had provided other means to obtain a pass for those who did not know how to use computer.

(b) Mr NG Siu-hong said that earlier he had expressed concern to the HKJC on the use of the southern plaza in Tai Kwun. Noting that film shows would be held at the southern plaza, he was concerned that the lighting of and noise produced by the events would affect the residents of Chancery Lane adjacent to the southern plaza. He hoped the HKJC would follow up and suggested that noisy events be held in the northern plaza. Mr NG also hoped that the HKJC would pay attention to the visual permeability of restaurants and other public places fronting Chancery Lane, and whether the lighting during the events would cause nuisance to nearby residents. Meanwhile, Mr NG hoped that the events organised by the HKJC would be made more available to the public, such as film shows. He believed that high-quality art should be made more available to the public to allow for public involvement. He also hoped that the price level of consumption items on site could meet the expectations of residents. He added that the price level at PMQ had failed to meet the expectations of residents, and hoped that Tai Kwun could do better in this regard. In respect of the speech by Ms Katty LAW of the CWCG just now, Mr NG enquired about the HKJC’s decision on the recovery proposal of the Married Inspectors’ Quarters. He said that there was public concern about the recovery proposal and usage of the building. He hoped that the Married

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Inspectors’ Quarters could be made available for public uses in the future and become a popular space. He also hoped that the HKJC would enhance public consultation. Mr NG continued that he had made a site visit to the former CGO earlier and found that the plaza at the centre of the site was still enclosed. He enquired about the works progress of the plaza and the estimated time when the open space could be open to residents. He also expressed concern about the lack of toilet facilities in the project. He said that after the site was opened up as open space, many people would go there for lunch. Hence, provision of facilities such as toilet, water dispenser and vending machine would be necessary. He hoped the departments concerned would provide such facilities.

(c) Mr HUI Chi-fung said that the HKJC had mentioned in its briefing about open space and the role of Tai Kwun in the community. Regarding the proportion of venue space for different purposes, he enquired about the type of use that public open space belonged to. He also asked about the DEVB’s guidelines on the size of open space in the project. He said that the project should be positioned as a place where the public were welcome to stay. In addition, remarking that the whole project involved heritage conservation, he believed that the policy objective, apart from promoting contemporary art and culture, also included preservation of history and heritage. He hoped that the project would not follow the step of PMQ where the site’s history was forgotten by most. Although the appearance of Tai Kwun was enough to show its monument status which had given it an edge in conservation, he was still concerned about the events and shops in Tai Kwun. That is, apart from those related to culture and art, whether the HKJC had other ideas to highlight the history of Tai Kwun. Finally, regarding the arrangement for obtaining passes for entry, Mr HUI in principle had no objection to the measure, but said that the practice was different from similar programmes in the past. As members of the public had to register online in advance, he worried that this would affect the public’s impression of the project. He invited a response from the HKJC on the exact time for implementation of the measure to enable the public to make preparations. He also invited the HKJC to provide the maximum number of visitors that might be admitted by Tai Kwun at any one time.

(d) Mr YEUNG Hok-ming said that during their earlier visit to Tai Kwun, Members noted that there was a lack of barrier-free access in many buildings. He understood that the HKJC had tried its best to enable those in need to use most of the facilities. However, due to physical constraints of the site, many places in Tai Kwun were still difficult to access for the disabled. In view of this, he suggested that the HKJC should display the barrier-free access route on relevant maps and information guide to facilitate visits and estimation of visiting duration by people

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in need. Mr YEUNG was also concerned about the impact of the opening of Tai Kwun on the traffic in the vicinity. He said that nearby streets such as road sections on Old Bailey Street, Hollywood Road and Arbuthnot Road only allowed vehicles to park temporarily with no parking space provided. Moreover, there was no private car park within Tai Kwun and only small coaches were allowed to park temporarily inside. He was concerned about the arrangements for tour groups and visitors visiting Tai Kwun in the future, and worried that there would be vehicles blocking nearby streets. He hoped that appropriate traffic measures would be implemented.

(e) Ms CHENG Lai-king said that the Council had worked hard for the conservation of Tai Kwun since the late 1990s, during which various proposals had been discussed, such as the construction of bamboo sheds. She was pleased about the successful conservation of Tai Kwun. Ms CHENG said that many people enquired about how to obtain a Tai Kwun Pass. She suggested that the HKJC should step up publicity. Ms CHENG said that according to the briefing by the HKJC, there were three accesses allowing the passage of wheelchairs in Tai Kwun. One of them was at Old Bailey Street. She was concerned that the steep topography of Old Bailey Street might pose safety hazards to road users. She enquired of the HKJC about the route it anticipated wheelchair users to take when using that entrance, and asked it to consider only to open the entrance at Arbuthnot Road for wheelchair users. She hoped that the HKJC could make thorough consideration to ensure safe access of the disabled to Tai Kwun. She also remarked that the disabled were unable to use the footbridge connecting Tai Kwun because there were steps on it. In addition, she said that some residents at Chancery Lane had relayed to her their wish that Tai Kwun could keep the noise down after 11 pm. She would like to have information on the contact hotline of Tai Kwun to enable residents nearby to promptly reflect the noise problem as necessary. Ms CHENG also hoped that the HKJC would properly manage the alfresco dining facilities in Tai Kwun, and suggested it to draw up short, medium and long-distance tour routes for Tai Kwun in the future to facilitate visitors with different itinerary requirements to estimate tour time. Ms CHENG also enquired whether the Police Services Centre to be relocated to Tai Kwun was open round the clock. She also hoped that the Police would display notices at its former location at Queen's Road Central to provide clear direction for the public to its new location in Tai Kwun.

(f) Mr KAM Nai-wai recalled the history. He said that when Tai Kwun was closed down between the late 1990s and early 2000s, the C&WDC had strived for three things for this conservation project. The first was to let non-profit-making organisation operate the site, and this request was satisfied as Tai Kwun was

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currently operated by the HKJC. The second was objection to the Government's proposal to demolish F Hall, and now F Hall was retained. The third was the request for setting up a Police Services Centre in Tai Kwun so that it could live up to its name (“Tai Kwun” meant Big Station in Cantonese); and now a Police Services Centre was to open in Tai Kwun. He hoped that these three things which the Council had strived for so many years and had finally been realised could be put on record. He continued to express concern that various problems might arise in the actual operation of Tai Kwun, and suggested that the HKJC should set up a permanent liaison unit to monitor the operation of Tai Kwun and offer advice. Members of the unit might include all stakeholders such as district council members of the constituencies concerned, residents in the neighbourhood, operator, people with knowledge on history, etc. He said that PMQ did not have a similar organisation and there were constant complaints about its operation, such as sale of liquor on site, noise problem, etc. He was very disappointed with the performance of the operator of PMQ. In addition, Mr KAM enquired about the scheduled commissioning time of the footbridge connecting Tai Kwun and emphasised the importance of the footbridge in facilitating pedestrian flow. Finally, in respect of inviting residents to participate in previews on 20 May mentioned by the HKJC, Mr KAM said that reply slip of the invitation card only required information of two guests. He enquired how the HKJC would invite other residents of the Central and Western District. He believed that all 15 C&WDC members would be happy to assist in publicity, and hoped that the HKJC could provide more information on its publicity programme.

(g) Mr CHAN Choi-hi said that in addition to being a historic hub of Hong Kong’s police station, prison and judiciary, Tai Kwun was also a place where many historical events took place. For example, Mr HO Chi-minh, the founding father of Vietnam, once visited the site; and poet Mr DAI Wang-shu wrote poetry there as he was imprisoned there by the Japanese army during the Second World War. He would like to know how the HKJC would present what Tai Kwun had gone through in every era, so as to show the public the rich history behind the historic site. Mr CHAN said that Tai Kwun was built more than a century ago and had a even longer history than PMQ. It had become a historical landmark of the Central and Western District. He urged the HKJC to make good use of these precious resources and highlight its irreplaceable status. Regarding the admission arrangements, Mr CHAN asked that if members of the public failed to show up on time after registration online or via mobile app, whether the HKJC could consider setting up a mechanism to release the admission quotas to persons awaiting entry without the need for pre-registration. He considered that such arrangement would facilitate the conduct of pressure tests and give visitors waiting on site but without

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pre-registration the opportunity to get in. He also reminded the HKJC to arrange sufficient staff for the said arrangement in order to cope with the crowds. In addition, drawing reference from the operation experience of PMQ, Mr CHAN enquired whether the Transport Department and the Police had set up contingency measures to cope with unforeseen circumstances in relation to pedestrian and vehicular flows.

(h) Mr CHAN Chit-kwai expressed appreciation for the HKJC’s remarks to the media on Tai Kwun, and agreed that it was important to have a clear direction and draw lessons from failure examples in developing the project. Mr CHAN said that the development of Tai Kwun was generally in line with the expectations of the C&WDC and the public. He commended the HKJC for its meticulous work, and hoped that the HKJC could maintain this edge and continue to develop Tai Kwun, a place for heritage and arts, tourism and leisure. As for recovery of the partially collapsed Married Inspectors’ Quarters, he believed that the HKJC would continue to liaise with the AAB to explore different options. Mr CHAN encouraged Ms Katty LAW to express her views to facilitate views collection by the AAB for relaying to the HKJC. Mr CHAN also commended the HKJC for adopting a rational approach to complete the works of and open Tai Kwun in phases, reckoning that this would help expedite the opening of the monument. The project was also well-received by the public. There had been lively discussions on the arrangements for registration and collection of passes. Besides, Mr CHAN shared Mr KAM Nai-wai’s views that the footbridge was very important in facilitating pedestrian and vehicular flows. He enquired whether the Administration had a speific timetable for opening of the footbridge. He also enquired about the work progress and difficulties encountered, and the possibility of early opening of the footbridge. Mr CHAN also commended the revitalisation works of Murray Building, in particular the beautiful scenery on the rooftop of the building. He hoped it could be open to the public. He continued that the ancillary facilities of the Murray Building project were highly satisfactory. For example, parking lots, restaurants, café, etc. were available. He appreciated the round-the-clock operation of these facilities which facilitated people heading for Peak Tram stations, and considered the practice desirable. But he reminded the operator to pay attention to the pricing of facilities, remarking that it would not be affordable to the general public if the pricing was too high.

(i) The Vice-chairman said that the "Conserving Central" projects had been discussed in the C&WDC for a long time and some of the projects had been completed. He suggested that the completed projects be removed from the progress report. The Vice-chairman said that he had conducted an inspection to Murray Building

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earlier. He believed that the project had adopted an alternative conservation approach, that is, façade retention while renovating the interiors, which made it hard to tell that the building was once government offices. He understood that this conservation approach was adopted because Murray Building was an aged building and its architectural characteristics were mainly reflected in the façade. The Vice-chairman said that the Murray Building project was a job well done and the conservation approach adopted was worthy of serving as reference. However, he considered that the current hotel use failed to highlight the history of Murray Building. Hence, during his earlier inspection, he suggested that the operator might consider showing a short film at the guest rooms, so that hotel guests could learn about the relevant history. He hoped that the DEVB would help implement the recommendation. The Vice-chairman also said that he had inspected the conservation work of the East and Main Wings of the former CGO. He considered it a job well done and supported the allocation of the site for use by the DoJ. He said that he was also arranged to visit the former Executive Council chamber and considered that the overall conservation work was satisfactory. However, as the public had not had many opportunities to visit the former CGO, he hoped that the Administration could step up publicity to increase public awareness of the history of the place. Apart from organising guided tours, the Vice-chairman suggested that the relevant historical information could be conveyed by making short films or through various channels. He also suggested providing facilities at the plaza for the public to acquire information. In addition, he was aware that lots of resources, time and money had been put into the works for the West Wing of the former CGO, and hoped that good results could be yielded. He said that the passageway would connect with Queen's Road Central, Battery Path and Upper Albert Road, and hoped that the DEVB would ensure that it was free of obstruction. As for Tai Kwun, he said that he found it very impressive overall after his last visit and considered it a good place worthy of serving as reference. He commended the HKJC for its efforts in conservation and devoting a lot of resources and time, which enabled the presentation of many historical details. He was concerned about the nuisance caused to residents by the activities of Tai Kwun after its opening. He said that public visits to Tai Kwun after its opening would create impact on pedestrian flow, traffic, dining, etc. In particular, with the opening of F&B outlets at Tai Kwun, it would cause a ripple effect in the vicinity. He enquired how the HKJC would effectively monitor the impact. He said that even for a well-planned project, if there was a lack of effective monitoring, the result might be counter-productive. Regarding crowd management, he said that it was undesirable to rely mainly on the footbridge. He said that the footbridge was only in an upward direction for accessing the compound. Visitors leaving Tai Kwun could only use Hollywood Road or Stone Slab Street. However, Stone Slab Street was slippery in

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rainy days and was thus dangerous, especially for ladies walking down the street. He hoped that the HKJC would provide more ancillary facilities to ensure smooth departure of visitors, such as a direct access to MTR station or provision of slip resistant facilities at Stone Slab Street.

(j) Mr YOUNG Chit-on expressed his support for this project and looked forward to its opening, which would lay a new milestone of conservation, tourism, art and culture in Hong Kong. He said that the opening of Tai Kwun would bring a flow of people, as well as issues concerning traffic, law and order, hygiene, noise, etc. He said that there were residents living near Tai Kwun. And now with the re-opening of Tai Kwun, he was concerned about the problem of light pollution as the place was transformed from a construction site to a cultural point. He said that according to Tai Kwun’s history told by Mr KAM Nai-wai, he learned that Tai Kwun was originally a Police centre providing various services. Now it had become a culture-oriented tourist attraction, but at the same time maintained the services of the Police Services Centre. He said that nothing was mentioned about the Police Services Centre on the Tai Kwun homepage, and nothing was mentioned about the presence of a Police Services Centre in Tai Kwun on the Police Public Page. Even internet search engine (e.g. Google) results did not display Tai Kwun Police Services Centre’s search results. He suggested that Tai Kwun and the Police should join hands to properly publicise the relevant information. In particular, after the re-opening of Tai Kwun, many citizens would be very much looking forward to visiting it, which might cause chaos. He hoped all parties concerned would make efforts in this regard.

(k) The Chairman said that he had visited Murray Building and considered it an ideal project from the perspective of conservation. And the project did not cause any serious traffic congestion in the vicinity as expected. He appreciated the project design where the air-conditioning equipment was placed at the ground level instead of the rooftop to allow more space for heat dissipation. He said that the exterior of Murray Building bore no resemblance to a government building and had been revitalised into a five-star hotel. He suggested that future conservation projects could draw reference from this one. He considered the results satisfactory and that it was an innovative approach to conservation. As for the Tai Kwun project, he acknowledged the commitment and capability of the HKJC, and believed that it was hard to find another non-government organisation like the HKJC to be able to preserve the history of each brick or wall and repair them with great care. He once saw that after painting work was completed at some locations of the site, patches were required as it became damp due to bad weather. He believed that the total costs of the repair works had reached an astronomical

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amount. He agreed with Mr Leong CHEUNG of the HKJC that the site was a heritage site and needed revitalisation, and the provision of dining and entertainment facilities therein was also understandable. However, he considered that the site was once a justice centre that housed a police station, a court and a prison, and was thus of a different nature with Lan Kwai Fong and not a place for amusement. To respect history, while he had no objection to the provision of dining facilities at the site, he considered that the business hours should not run till the late night hours. He said that the project was launched some 20 years ago. At that time, he had expressed many views as chairman of Area Committee. He was very pleased that the project, being a key one in "Conserving Central", was officially completed and had been operating with great success. He said that the project was now officially open to the public and the public was looking forward to it. In addition, he was also concerned about traffic issues. He said that many roads on the Hong Kong Island were constructed along the hillsides, so attention had to be paid on the future flow of people and logistics. He said that the Council would continue to work closely with relevant parties in tackling traffic issues. He also said that a steering committee was in place for the project. Its members included some District Council members. He hoped that the committee would continue to operate and speak on behalf of the Council and residents.

59. Mr LEE Hong-nin of the DEVB thanked Members for their concerns on “Conserving Central”, in particular Tai Kwun. Regarding the public open space (POS) programme for the open compound between the Main and West Wings of the former CGO mentioned by Mr NG Siu-hong, he said that the open compound was still required for the renovation works associated with the West Wing and the Former French Mission Building. Following the completion of renovation works by the end of this year, the POS programme would commence and was targetted for completion in 2020. By then, the area would be open for public enjoyment. As regards toilet facilities mentioned by Mr NG Siu-hong, he said that the C&WDC had all along been raising such request and the recommendation had been relayed to the DoJ. The DoJ considered the recommendation not feasible because underneath the site was an underground car park and the provision of toilets involved many infrastructure works. He said that there were two public toilets nearby which were just a few minutes’ walk from the site, one in Cheung Kong Center on Queen's Road Central and the other in the West Wing on Ice House Street. Given catering facilities were provided on site, he understood Members' concerns about certain ancillary facilities such as handwashing facilities. He had discussed with the DoJ and the provision of handwashing facilities on site was being actively considered, so as to facilitate visitors and members of the public to wash their hands before and after meals. He would report the outcome to Members later. Regarding interpretation of the history of Murray Building raised by the Vice-chairman, he said that the hotel concurred with the recommendation and would continue to follow up to see if a short film on the history

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of Murray Building could be shown in the guest rooms. As regards the Vice-chairman ’s suggestion that regular updates on the completed projects among the eight projects under “Conserving Central” might no longer be necessary, Mr LEE said that projects already completed included "Murray Building" and the "Former Police Married Quarters on Hollywood Road". In response to the Vice-chairman’s suggestion, Mr LEE said that the two items could be removed from the progress report to save discussion time. 61. Mr Leong CHEUNG of the HKJC thanked the Council for its support to the HKJC. He shared Members’ views that history and culture should be respected, and remarked that Tai Kwun was a place which accorded priority to heritage conservation, and the whole restoration process and future operation model would also follow this principle. He indicated that there was permanent exhibition of history site-wide for public interpretation. Besides, an area in Block 1 would often be used for holding different types of exhibitions, with themes centring on the history and development of Tai Kwun and its surrounding areas, as well as Central as a whole. Regarding an enquiry from some Members that whether art should be made more available to the public, he said that there were two aspects of art exhibition. On one hand, art exhibitions would be held in the gallery. The gallery, having an area of 1 500 square metres, was divided into three zones, where different types of art exhibitions would be featured. Some of the exhibitions were targetted at the general public, while others at specific audience groups. Such arrangement was similar to that of most international art galleries. On the other hand, performing arts would be showcased in various locations in Tai Kwun, such as shops, restaurants, Parade Ground, Prison Yard, and so on. As regards concerns raised by Mr HUI Chi-fung about open space, he responded that members of the public holding Tai Kwun Pass were free to linger at these areas. In addition, he mentioned that underneath the auditorium, there was a special space very much like the design of an amphitheatre, called "Laundry Steps", where groups could show movies, hold midday music performances, etc. On noise and light pollution, particularly in the Prison Yard, he said that the area used to be a prison surrounded by high walls. He said that he had earlier carried out a testing at the residential dwellings at the rear of Chancery Lane. Noise measurement equipment was placed at different locations, and loudspeaker was used in different locations at and directions of the plaza to measure the noise level. The results showed that the noise level in the vicinity of Chancery Lane would exceed the prescribed decibel level only when the noise volume in the plaza was so loud that the people therein found it intolerable. For light pollution, he indicated that the relevant test had passed the environmental impact assessment. The site itself and the performances would not have particular strong light over-spilling to nearby residences that caused nuisance. On traffic arrangements, he said that the steering committee had repeatedly discussed relevant arrangements. He pointed out that Tai Kwun had a long history, and it was originally designed for use as police station, court and prison, and large crowds were not anticipated. However, as the current design aimed to attract the public to come and visit and timely leave the site, the environmental design was subject to certain restrictions and

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difficulties. He hoped the public would understand. He said that the HKJC needed time to study the situation of visitors’ entry and exit, such as the more popular entrances and exits, so as to collate relevant data and build up operation experience for effective visitor flow management. Regarding footbridge connection, he said that the works was progressing well and expected to be completed before the opening of Tai Kwun. He continued that the HKJC would not encourage visitors to use private transport to access Tai Kwun and no on-site parking facility was provided. He encouraged the public to use public transport to the site. He said that there would not be active promotion to overseas tourists at the initial phase. It would focus on receiving Hong Kong citizens before promoting to tourists at the next phase. On promotion to tourists, the HKJC had liaised with the Hong Kong Tourism Board. Initially, preliminary communication would be conducted with organisations which organised tour groups to inform them that there was no parking space for coaches nearby. Coaches had to drop off visitors at Lyndhurst Terrace or nearby streets for them to walk to Tai Kwun. Mr CHEUNG said that these arrangements were still being revised and would be further adjusted after operational data was available. As regards Tai Kwun Pass, he said that it was an inevitable approach. It was a rare practice in Hong Kong, but quite common overseas. He said that at the initial phase, the public would be encouraged to get a Tai Kwun Pass. After smooth running of the site, it was hoped that visitors would be able to enter without a Tai Kwun Pass for most of the time; and only when the site had reached full capacity would the public be informed that only those holding Tai Kwun Pass were allowed to enter. He said that people queuing up around Tai Kwun would affect the traffic in the Central and Western District. It was hoped that the public could have a safe and pleasurable visitor experience. Tai Kwun Pass enabled the public to know the admission time so that they could make good use of the spare time to have a stroll in the vicinity, which might benefit the business of shops nearby. He said that this was the HKJC’s current thinking. After trying out, an update would be provided to the Council when reference data was available.   63. In response to Mr KAM Nai-wai’s enquiry, Mr John TANG of the HKJC supplemented on the Exploring Tai Kwun to be held on 20 May. He said that an important part of the project was connection with the neighbourhood. In the previous period of time, the HKJC had been in contact with neighbouring residents about the project progress. Nevertheless, given the site had been locked up for a long time, it would inevitably have an impact on the surrounding environment as it was now open to the public. He said that he hoped to arrange previews for residents in the neighbourhood prior to the official opening of Tai Kwun and listen to their views. He said that the Exploring Tai Kwun to be held on 20 May was the first Community Day. The HKJC had invited residents of nearby streets to participate and Members were also invited to the event to give views. The day also marked the opening of the “100 Faces of Tai Kwun” exhibition. He said that 26 and 27 May were also Tai Kwun’s Community Days. The HKJC would further invite residents of the Central and Western District to the Community Day on 27 May and would ask Members to help promoting the

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event. 65. Mr NG Siu-hong enquired again whether water dispenser and vending machine would be provided in the former CGO, for he considered that this would encourage the public to drink at water dispensers and use less plastic bottles. As for Tai Kwun, he said that Chancery Lane was a quiet place, and a noise level that merely complied with the regulatory requirements was not good enough. He hoped that the serenity of the neighbourhood could be maintained, and reckoned that sounds of different natures, such as sounds from music instruments or film showing, would bring about different impacts on residents.

67. Mr HUI Chi-fung said although the HKJC indicated that both the Parade Ground and Prison Yard were open space and members of the public were free to linger, he opined that supporting facilities such as seating benches would have to be provided to attract the public to do so. In addition, he was opposed to the suggestion that the DEVB no longer needed to report to the Council the progress of the Former Police Married Quarters on Hollywood Road project (i.e. PMQ). He considered that Members were still dissatisfied with various aspects of the project. He hoped that the DEVB would continue to report to the Council about the utilisation of the project, including the utilisation rate of the interpretation area, utilisation rate of open space, places that required inspection by the Antiquities and Monuments Office, utilisation rate of rooms for meetings of owners’ corporations, etc.

69. Ms CHENG Lai-king was opposed to the removal of the completed projects in “Conserving Central” from the DEVB’s progress report. She said that the loading and unloading activities near the PMQ was still far from satisfactory, and thus hoped to keep the project in the progress report. She also said that Murray Building had become a gorgeous private space, and the public might not be aware of the open space inside. She hoped that interpretation signs could be provided by Murray Building to inform people about the open space therein which was open for public access. In addition, she asked when visitors would be allowed to enter Tai Kwun without the need to get a Tai Kwun Pass. 71. The Chairman added that he was fond of an old tree in Murray Building. He personally considered it the most beautiful one among the trees conserved with business participation. The structural condition of the tree was also good, showing that the tree was still growing well after revitalisation. He hoped that government departments or other organisations would draw reference from this practice in conserving trees.

73. In response to Mr HUI Chi-fung’s views, Mr Leong CHEUNG of the HKJC said that during the whole conservation process, the conservation architect had given a lot of opinions. For example, the addition of facilities such as seats which were not compatible with the original design might not be accepted by the architect. He said that Mr HUI Chi-fung’s

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suggestions would be taken into consideration in exploring feasible ways to encourage the public to use the open space. On the arrangement of Tai Kwun Pass, he said that in the future at off-peak times and when the number of people inside the venue had not exceeded 5 000, visitors would be able to enter without a Tai Kwun Pass. Tai Kwun Pass was required for managing visitor numbers only at peak hours or when Tai Kwun had reached full capacity. 75. The Chairman thanked the guests for attending the meeting and closed the discussion on this item.

Item 5(ii): Progress Report on Urban Renewal Authority’s Projects inCentral & Western District

(C&W DC Paper No. 46/2018) (4:06 pm – 4:52 pm)

77. The Chairman welcomed representatives of the Urban Renewal Authority (URA) and the CWCG to the meeting, and invited the URA to present the paper.

79. Mr Wilfred A U , Director (Planning and Design) of the URA, briefed Members on the progress of the projects with highlights as follows:

(a) H18 Peel Street/Graham Street Redevelopment Scheme: Site formation for Site A was near completion. Foundation and excavation works were currently being carried out. Engagement with hawkers in the vicinity of the site would be carried out during piling works. Site B would tentatively be completed in the third quarter of 2018, to be followed by application for site inspection by government departments. The public open space was expected to be open in the first quarter of 2019. To maintain the vibrancy of the market, the URA would discuss with the Council/shop operators and hawkers on the launch of the fifth round of market promotion exercise. Design and studies for Site C were currently being carried out by the works consultant of the joint venture developer. Replacement of hoarding and protective works would be carried out in some locations within Site C. Mr AU said that the URA had completed the first phase of protective works for preservation elements within Site C. Upon the advice of its works consultant/engineer, the joint venture developer stepped up protective measures before commencement of works. Erection of hoarding and protective works were expected to be completed in 2018. Foundation works would be commenced in 2019.

(b) H19 Wing Lee Street/Staunton Street Redevelopment Scheme: Mr AU said that

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the Planning Department (PlanD) gave a written reply to the Council before the meeting, indicating that the site of URA’s H19 Wing Lee Street/Staunton Street Redevelopment Scheme was zoned "Comprehensive Development Area" (CDA). The Master Layout Plan of the scheme, which had been approved by the Town Planning Board (TPB), remained effective.  He was aware that the Council was against the proposal to increase the plot ratio of H19 on the basis that an increase in the number of residential flats should not be used to justify an increase in the development parameters. With due respect to such views and in line with the planning intention for comprehensive development, the URA’s current preliminary proposal suggested to use the overall plot ratio of the approved scheme of 2013 (i.e. 4.76). The buildings on Nos. 88-90 Staunton Street at Site B would still be preserved in their entirety for adaptive re-use. Without changing the overall plot ratio of 4.76, it was proposed to change the plot ratio of Site B from the original 3.9 to about 5. Renovation works for the existing buildings in Site C was proposed as the buildings were in better conditions. Size of the open space of the scheme was equivalent to that of the approved scheme (i.e. about 470 square metres). The Council’s support for the scheme was sought. 

(c) C&W-005 Sung Hing Lane/Kwai Heung Street Development Project: The Secretary for Development authorised the URA to proceed with the project on 13 March 2018. The URA made acquisition offers to the owners of the project on 14 May 2018. Owners had 60 days for consideration of the acquisition offer. The URA would also offer a flat-for-flat option as an alternative to cash compensation and ex-gratia payment to eligible owner-occupiers of domestic units.  After completion of the property acquisition, the URA would make rehousing arrangement or ex-gratia allowance for the domestic tenants concerned, if eligible.  Besides, Mr AU said that the URA would organise a public briefing on 21 May 2018 for the affected owners, residents and shop operators to explain to them the acquisition, ex-gratia allowance and rehousing arrangements, as well as to answer their queries. The URA also introduced the Local Shop Arrangement (LSA) for existing non-domestic owner-operators and tenant-operators personally operating the dried seafood and associated businesses in ground floor shops of the project.  Under the LSA, eligible operators, after meeting specified criteria, who were interested in continuing their dried seafood and associated businesses in the future development would be offered priority to lease shop premises in the future development of the project.  Given the lead time to complete the project, an interim relocation option to lease retail shops at the Peel Street/Graham Street Development Scheme (Site B) was available to the participating eligible operators for consideration.

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(d) Central Market: Advance works would soon commence. The demolition works for the public toilet on Queen’s Road Central was completed and this area would become a small plaza. On interim progress, Mr AU said that the Council had raised the issue of odour and slippery floor in the public toilet on Des Voeux Road Central at previous meeting. The URA had already replaced the urinal bowls and lavatory basins of the public toilet, and equipment such as air-conditioner, dehumidifier, ion air purifiers, air filtration and ventilation, etc. were provided in the toilet. Interior beautification and renovation would also be carried out in the toilet, including display of drawings on the walls. He hoped that the new toilet facilities on the 2/F could be completed expeditiously for public use. The URA displayed a number of panels with new contents in the 24-hour public passageway on the 2/F in April 2018 to introduce the history of the area around Central Market (including the story of Hung Mo Kew), provided by historians Mr CHENG Po-hung, Dr TING Sun-pao and his teaching assistant Dr LO Shuk-ying. Works for the building marquee was underway. In addition, the advance works was expected to be completed in 2018, to be followed by major rehabilitation works. The project was expected to be completed and open for public use by 2021/22. As regards the operation model of Central Market, Mr AU said that apart from the guidelines as set out by the Community Advisory Committee, it would also keep pace with the trend as far as possible in order to respond to public aspirations on cultural industry, leisure and sitting-out areas. He said that the consultant was conducting a detailed study. It was hoped that a framework could be established within this year. The URA would report to the C&WDC again later.

(e) Street Beautification Works Adjacent to The Center and H6 CONET: At present, various types of activities were being piloted in the indoor open space which aimed to attract members of the public and organisations to use the venue. Regarding the street beautification works, the URA had appointed a contractor to carry out resurfacing works for five streets in 2018. Resurfacing works for the other two streets was expected to be completed in the first two quarters of 2019. The works would extend the accessibility of H6 CONET from its entrance to streets outside. Meanwhile, for the 13 hawker pitches within the site boundary of beautification works, the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) and the URA were in discussion with stall owners on refurbishment of hawker pitches with a view to meeting the new requirements of the FEHD. The URA would provide subsidies for the refurbishment works. Mr AU said that to avoid causing excessive nuisance to kindergartens nearby, the beautification works would be carried out within this summer holiday. In addition, a building at Tit Hong Lane had earlier applied for the URA’s building rehabilitation subsidy. The URA would discuss with the parties concerned about details of the rehabilitation and external wall

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works.

(f) Western Market: Mr AU said that the available rental shops at H18’s Site B would only be completed in the first quarter of 2019. If the Western Market cloth traders wished to relocate their operations to H18, the URA would liaise with the Government on the proposed extended tenancy arrangement of Western Market to February 2020, so as to provide ample room for communication between the URA, Members and other stakeholders.

81. The Chairman said that the submission from Sung Hing Lane/Kwai Heung Street Redevelopment Concern Group was tabled. He then invited Ms Katty LAW of the CWCG to speak.

83. Ms Katty LAW of the CWCG said that several months had passed and the URA finally touched upon the progress of H19. She was disappoined at URA’s report. She believed that Members of different factions had reached a consensus in the discussion in the past year. That is, in light that owners were capable of carrying out building rehabilitation works on their own, and that the special characters of the cluster of tenement buildings on Wing Lee Street were preserved after the rehabilitation works, all parties concerned were wishing that the URA would adopt a “complete preservation” approach for H19 as far as possible and even opined that if owners of property interests under acquisition intended to retain the tenement buildings, the URA should consider revising the scheme or even abandon the redevelopment project. However, although the URA had no current intention to increase the overall plot ratio of the project, it would demolish most of the tenement buildings at Sites B and C for high-rise developments. She cited the Hong Kong News-Expo and the tenement building owned by Mr SHUM Wai-yau at side of the granite steps of Shing Wong Street entrance as examples, saying that the ambience of the neighbourhood was great. With proper conservation, it could become another old town precinct in addition to PMQ. She was disappointed that this time the discussion still centred around demolition of tenement buildings for redevelopment. She said that the current consensus of the community on conserving Central was to preserve tenement buildings and adopt low-rise construction for buildings along both sides of Shing Wong Street. She continued that the tenement buildings at the junction of Staunton Street and Aberdeen Street were in very good conditions and some people still lived there. There were even balconies and many fine restaurants. She was puzzled at the URA’s insistence on adopting a traditional approach in redeveloping the area. She believed that the discussion should focus on conservation of the neighbourhood. Although the tenement buildings at Wa In Fong West had been vacant for several years, they still had redevelopment values for transformation into a small cluster of tenement buildings with distinctive character. On contrary to the current project which emphasised solely on the past approach of development/redevelopment, she said that the area was a suitable location for a tong lau

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(tenement buildings) museum or exhibition area. In addition, she said that many owners in the area still wished to retain their properties. She opined that discussion should be held in the Council or the local community on how to achieve real conservation of the area in order to showcase the development of Old Town Central, such as the "30 Houses” neighbourhood, rather than simply promoting the URA’s "bulldozer" mode of development.

85. The Chairman invited views from Members. The main points of their comments were as follows:

(a) Mr NG Siu-hong was dissatisfied with H19, especially when he came to know that the plot ratio of Site B was to increase significantly from 3.9 to 5. He said that the site was closest to the residential dwellings and was also one of the main exits of the preserved site on Wing Lee Street. He strongly opposed an increase in the plot ratio of sites next to the Hong Kong News-Expo and Nos. 88-89 of Staunton Street for in-fill, screen-like developments, reckoning that it would affect air ventilation and light penetration of the high-density dwellings nearby, as well as surround Wing Lee Street with high-rise buildings. In addition, he expressed concern about the preservation of buildings on Nos. 88 and 90 Staunton Street in entirety and asked the URA about the uses of the buildings after preservation. He hoped that the URA would conduct public consultation on and inform the public about their uses. He opined that the density of the site should not be further increased as it was already a high density area. Instead, he hoped that the “steps” culture in the neighbourhood could be highlighted and the site be conserved to complement other Old Town Central precincts like the Hong Kong News-Expo and PMQ.

(b) Mr HUI Chi-fung said that according to the URA’s report, H18’s Site B could be opened in the first quarter of 2019 and the URA was liaising with relevant old shops for returning to continue their operation in-situ. He enquired how the URA defined old shops. He said that at the time of redevelopment of Graham Street, many popular old shops there had to move out. He wished to know the criteria for defining old shops. Besides, as regards H19, he noted that the URA had planned to increase the building height for Site B while reducing that for Site C in order to achieve a balance. He asked the URA the reason for putting forward the proposal, such as whether it was necessary to increase the number of residential units in line with TPB’s requirements. He considered that the URA should inform the Council of the pros and cons of the proposal. In addition, he mentioned that a consensus had been reached by the C&WDC before in the hope that the URA would withdraw the H19 redevelopment scheme to allow complete preservation of the distinctive architectural complex by the property owners. He considered that the URA's current proposal was not in line with the consensus of the C&WDC and

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queried the value of continuing the project.

(c) Mr YEUNG Hok-ming said that regarding the compensation arrangement for the Sung Hing Lane/Kwai Heung Street redevelopment project, the URA had already announced the details and would hold meeting with residents again to further explain to them. He believed that in the meantime residents might find the amount of compensation satisfactory. However, he was concerned that there would be dissatisfaction among residents when they became aware that certain amount would be deducted from the compensation due to various factors. Hence, he hoped that the URA could explain to owners and tenants how deductions were determined as soon as possible. He reckoned that if compensation could be arranged in a way that there would be possibility of increase rather than decrease in the amount concerned, residents would find it more acceptable. In addition, the URA had mentioned that arrangement would be made for relocation of eligible owner-operators and tenant-operators to shops at Peel Street or Graham Street for temporary operation. However, he believed that such arrangement would not bring much benefit to shop operators originally operating at Sung Hing Lane, as they would lose customers from the dried seafood industry after moving out of the Dried Seafood Street and thereby unable to achieve the clustering effect. He suggested that arrangements should be made for the shops to continue operation in the vicinity of the Dried Seafood Street. He said that if the shops were moved to Peel Street or Graham Street in Central, they would only seem out of place as it was not the place where their source of customers came from. He opined that the URA should take the culture of traditional industries into account and allow shops to continue to operate in-situ after completion of the redevelopment project, remarking that dried seafood shops in the area had contributed to the development of the district.

(d) Ms NG Hoi-yan objected to increasing the plot ratio of H19’s Site B because Site B was located near an open space and surrounded by low-rise buildings. An increase in plot ratio would encourage the development of taller buildings which was incompatible with the overall local environment. In addition, she was concerned about the preservation of tenement buildings on Nos. 88 and 90 Staunton Street, and enquired about the URA’s preservation plan and usage of the buildings after preservation.

(e) Mr LEE Chi-hang said that H19 had been repeatedly discussed for more than a decade, but no consensus had been reached on its broad direction. Also, in the light of the stance expressed by Members urging withdrawal of the project, he suggested that the URA should withdraw the project and discontinue the

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development. He also considered that if other Members held the same view, the C&WDC might write to the URA and the DEVB to express Members’ view, so as to avoid wasting time and resources in discussing the project. Regarding the Sung Hing Lane/Kwai Heung Street Development Project, Mr LEE said that members of the public had previously expressed their disappointment and complained to him on the URA’s acquisition arrangements, as the acquisition price initially offered by the URA to owners often did not include the items to be deducted. He enquired whether the URA could improve the approach of offering acquisition price by considering adding instead of deducting the relevant items one by one after offering an acquisition price. Mr LEE opined that if the URA offered the highest acquisition price for public reference from the outset, the public would eventually be dissatisfied and disappointed by the discounted compensation. Furthermore, he enquired of the URA whether it was reasonable to use the price for a 7-year-old flat in the same locality as the basis for calculating the acquisition price and the reason for using this as the basis for calculation. He understood that URA’s calculation was in line with the suggestion raised by LegCo members during previous discussions in the LegCo that the price for a 7-year-old flat in the same locality should be used as the benchmark for acquisition price, and was not a statutory requirement. He asked whether it was appropriate for the URA to continue to use this method to calculate the acquisition price and whether the URA could consider changing the calculation method for acquisition price at this stage. He hoped that the DC-cum-LegCo Members could raise the issue of whether acquisition price could be increased for discussion at LegCo meetings. In addition, as mentioned by the CWCG, 16 tenants had expressed their wish to be rehoused to public rental housing on the Hong Kong Island. Mr LEE asked whether the URA had reached a consensus with the Housing Authority on the provision of a maximum of 34 and a minimum of 16 public housing units for rehousing of tenants, and whether the URA could reserve some units for the project so that prompt arrangement could be made for rehousing of residents. He hoped that the URA could reserve the vacated public housing units in the Sai Wan Estate or other locations of the Central and Western District for re-accommodation of residents affected by the project in the neighbourhood in the future. Mr LEE also hoped that the URA could announce the timetable as soon as possible so that owners and tenants could make prior preparation and arrangement.

(f) Ms CHENG Lai-king enquired about the number of property titles under H19’s Sites B and C acquired by the URA so far. She said the URA had mentioned that Site B was planned in accordance with the approved plan for the CDA provided by the PlanD in 2013, whereas for H18 and H19, acquisition was announced in 1997 and took place concurrently with that for Island Crest at First Street/Second Street

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of Sai Ying Pun. She said that the site area of H19 was small. If the tenement buildings on Nos. 88-90 Staunton Street were reserved in their entirety, the building to be redeveloped could only be an in-filled development, which would be very inconvenient for workers to carry out work or residents to move in/out. If the plot ratio of Site B was to increase from 3.9 to 5 as currently proposed by the URA, she was concerned that whether such an in-fill development could be built to such a height. She added that future residents of the site would need to use the stairs next to the Hong Kong News-Expo, which would be rather inconvenient. She enquired whether the URA would withdraw the proposal. She hoped that the tenement buildings on Nos. 88-90 Staunton Street could be preserved, where the history of Wah Kiu Yat Po could be displayed to complement the nearby Hong Kong News-Expo. Ms CHENG would like to know the progress of URA's acquisition.

(g) Mr KAM Nai-wai said that for Western Market, he supported the URA’s arrangement to apply to the DEVB for tenancy extension of Western Market for one year to facilitate relocation of shop operators to H18. He also suggested writing to the DEVB to show Members’ support in this regard. He believed that if the shop operators concerned could continue their operation in Western Market for one more year, they could have more time for thorough consideration of and decision on relocation. He also said that it was not satisfactory to request the shop operators to move out without providing rental shops for relocation.

(h) The Vice-chairman said that regarding the Central Market Revitalisation Project, the condition of the public toilet on Des Voeux Road Central was still not satisfactory, with serious odour problem. He said that the installation of air-conditioner had aggravated the problem, and suggested that the URA should consider enhancing the filtration equipment to reduce odour and step up cleansing work. He believed that the slippery floor in the toilet was the main cause of odour and hoped that the URA could make good use of resources to tackle the problem. Regarding the Sung Hing Lane/Kwai Heung Street Development Project, the Vice-chairman said that the public was surprised by the acquisition price announced by the URA. He suggested that the URA should provide a more realistic indicative amount instead of the upper limit. He said that announcement of the upper limit of acquisition price would immediately drive up second-hand flat prices in the vicinity, making it difficult for residents to buy back a flat in the neighbourhood. He hoped that the URA could convey clear and accurate messages to residents. Regarding H19, the Vice-chairman suggested shelving the development of the project. He estimated that the percentage of successful acquisition of property titles of the project was maintained at 40% to 50%. Remarking that the project had

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not yet been completed after over two decades, he opined that the URA should allow residents of the area to take care of their own properties, and should propose to the DEVB or the PlanD to turn H19 into a conservation project to maintain status quo, so that the URA could focus its resources on other projects and avoid causing confusion to property owners in the area. He also agreed that the Council should write to the DEVB, requesting the URA to abandon H19 and preserve the existing sites for development into a conservation project. However, he stressed that he was opposed to allowing private developers to develop the premises at the site after the URA had abandoned H19. He hoped that status quo could be maintained to allow existing owners to take care of their own properties. 

(i) Mr YOUNG Chit-on said that with reference to the scale, duration and progress of H19, the status of the project was not expected to change much. He suggested that the URA should commit the resources to other projects of larger scale and greater effectiveness, and agreed that the Council should write to the DEVB requesting the URA to abandon H19. Regarding the odour problem of the public toilet on Des Voeux Road Central, he reckoned that this would affect tourists’ impression of Hong Kong and resources should be put into improving the quality of public toilet services. Regarding the Sung Hing Lane/Kwai Heung Street Development Project, Mr YOUNG pointed out that the release of information relating to price-setting by the Government, such as acquisition price, might affect market operation. This in turn might lead to an increase in property prices and hence causing dissatisfaction among the public. In light of this, he hoped that the URA would be cautious in releasing relevant information and only do so at opportune times to take into account public expectations.

87. Mr Wilfred A U of the URA responded to Members’ enquiries. Regarding H19, he said that the project was still a CDA and according to the requirements of the relevant legislation, the URA still had to put forward development proposal in line with the planning intention of CDA. Mr AU first clarified that for Site C, the existing buildings thereon would be retained and rehabilitated; as for changing the plot ratio of Site B from 3.9 to about 5, he estimated that there would be a change in building height from the previous 13 storeys to about 16 storeys. Under the new proposal, the existing streets and lanes within the boundary of H19 would still be preserved, and there would be no construction of main blocks on the lanes. He respected the Council’s recommendations on the new planned use of the site, including that the URA should abandon the redevelopment project. He said that if the recommended use was accepted by the TPB or the PlanD, the URA would handle the matter in accordance with the relevant decision. He was aware of the Council’s views on the project but reiterated that as long as the project was still a CDA, the URA had the responsibility to implement the development scheme. Mr AU understood that Members expected the URA to put more

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resources into other redevelopment projects, such as Sung Hing Lane and In Ku Lane, as well as some environmental improvement projects. 89. On H18, in response to Mr HUI Chi-fung’s enquiry, Mr AU of the URA said that shops which had operated at the project site before might not necessarily be century-old shops, it could also be shops which had operated there before with unique district characteristics. The URA would discuss with the shop operators concerned to address their rental needs. However, site visits could not be arranged for the shop operators at this stage as works at Site B had not yet been completed. Subject to the site progress, the URA would follow up on this by the middle of this year and update Members at Council meeting in a timely manner.

91. Regarding the Sung Hing Lane/Kwai Heung Street Development Project, Mr AU said that the prevailing property acquisition principles of the URA was based on the revision to the Home Purchase Allowance and Ex-gratia Allowance for Owners of Commercial Properties approved by the LegCo Finance Committee in March 2001, and any change was believed to require discussion at the LegCo. Regarding the transparency of calculating Home Purchase Allowance, Mr AU said that the acquisition price of $23,568 per square foot announced by the URA did not represent the value of the existing buildings within the project boundary. The aim of urban renewal was to improve living conditions in old urban areas so that owners affected would have chance to improve their living environment. Hence, the acquisition price was calculated based on the value of a notional replacement flat, which was a seven-year-old flat of similar size to the property being acquired. It did not reflect the actual value of the building, nor would it push up property prices. The URA considered that this mechanism for calculating the per-square-foot property price was fully consistent with the principles of fairness and impartiality, and was in use till now and had been operating effectively.  He said that the URA would again explain to the affected owners details of the acquisition at the briefing session to be held on 21 May 2018. Mr AU mentioned about the ex-gratia allowance and rehousing arrangement for tenants. He said that when owners sold their properties to the URA, the URA would proceed to deal with compensation for tenants concerned. He added that the URA had an agreement with the Housing Society/Housing Authority that flats would be earmarked for rehousing households affected by URA’s redevelopment projects, including flats on the Hong Kong Island. Mr AU said that the relevant details would be explained to owners and tenants at the briefing session to be held on 21 May. 93. As for Western Market, in response to Mr KAM Nai-wai’s views, Mr AU of the URA concurred that shop operators in Western Market could only be invited for a site visit upon completion of H18’s Site B and supported tenancy extension to provide ample room for discussion with shop operators. In response to the enquiry raised by the Vice-chairman concerning the odour problem of the public toilet in Central Market on Des Voeux Road Central, Mr AU clarified that the said toilet was not the one to be provided after revitalisation,

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it was only temporarily retained for public use and would cease to operate upon completion of the revitalisation works. The new toilet facilities would be better. He was aware of the odour problem of the toilet. He said that the ventilation system would be enhanced, and that ionic air purifier and air filter/ventilation fan had already been placed inside the toilet. He said that the URA would try to step up cleaning to alleviate the odour problem of the toilet.

95. The Chairman said that for Western Market, the Council would write to the DEVB to relay Members’ wish for tenancy extension for the Western Market cloth traders for one year to facilitate a seamless relocation to the rental shops at H18’s Site B. Regarding H19, the Council would also write to the DEVB expressing its view that the URA should abandon the H19 redevelopment project, and reiterating that a motion was adopted at the Council meeting on 16 March 2017 requesting the URA to allow complete preservation of the distinctive architectural complex by the current property owners. It was hoped that the URA would review whether it should continue to take forward the H19 redevelopment project and consider withdrawing the project.

Item 5 (ii): Progress Report on Urban Renewal Authority’s Project in Central &Western District – Queen’s Road West/In Ku Lane Development Scheme (C&W-006)

(C&W DC Paper No. 47/2018) (4:52 pm – 5:17 pm)

Item 6: Concern over Queen’s Road West/In Ku Lane Development Scheme ofUrban Renewal Authority

(C&W DC Paper No. 51/2018)

96. The Chairman said that the two papers concerned would be combined for discussion, and welcomed representatives of the URA to the meeting to give a briefing.

97. Mr Wilfred A U , Director (Planning and Design) of the URA, said that commencement of the development scheme was gazetted on 16 March 2018 and freezing survey was conducted for the scheme on the same day. A public briefing on details of the redevelopment scheme was held on 22 March 2018 for owners, tenants and stakeholders and to gauge public views. The development scheme was implemented in accordance with section 25 of the Urban Renewal Authority Ordinance (URAO), which involved change of land uses. Hence, its planning procedure was different from that of the Sung Hing Lane/Kwai Heung Street Development Project as the latter was implemented in accordance with section 26 of the URAO. The scheme was not designed for redevelopment of old buildings only. Rather, it was to meet the main objectives of urban renewal set out in the 2011 Urban Renewal Strategy

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(URS) with a view to ensuring compatible land uses through restructuring and replanning, rationalising land uses, and enhancing the townscape with attractive landscape and urban design, etc., such as by rationalising the location of the refuse collection point (RCP) and improving the accessibility of the park. Same as the Sung Hing Lane/Kwai Heung Street Development Project under which the accessibility of Sung Hing Lane Children’s Playground would be improved for enhanced urban design. In contemplating the development scheme, the URA had the same idea and hoped to improve the public spaces to ensure that the facilities concerned could better address the needs of the community. Mr AU added that the project site covered a soccer pitch currently enclosed by the surrounding old buildings, and adjacent to it was a RCP which had been in operation for 20-odd years. Improvement to those facilities was required. The URA hoped to improve the design of buildings and public spaces in the course of redevelopment, connect Queen’s Road West and the park, as well as integrate the RCP into the new development, so as to optimise overall space utilisation and improve the RCP. Apart from integrating the RCP into the proposed development, modern exhaust and odour control system could be adopted, and roof greening could also be considered. The whole project involved 12 street numbers of buildings. 38 households with 12 business operators within the scheme had been surveyed for the completed Stage 2 Social Impact Assessment (SIA) Report. The development scheme would only comprise a residential building providing small and medium flats. The height of the building would be within the existing building height restriction and the building height restriction in the vicinity imposed by the TPB. The scheme would also provide non-residential floor area and consideration would be given to leasing the space to shops with unique district characteristics, such as shops selling Chinese herbal medicines. As the development scheme had just commenced, the URA would, subject to the authorisation to proceed with the scheme, consider to arrange for the shop operators concerned to return and operate in-situ. However, further study was required on the arrangements regarding the shops’ business operation as the development scheme proceeded. In respect of public space of the scheme, it would cover a 5-a-side soccer pitch which would not be included in the plot ratio calculation, and public spaces not smaller than the existing ones would also be provided. As regards planning procedure, a draft Development Scheme Plan (DSP) of the scheme and the Stage 1 SIA Report were submitted to the TPB on 16 March 2018. Public views were collected by the TPB between 27 March and 17 April 2018. The Stage 2 SIA Report was also submitted to the TPB on 2 May 2018, and public views would be collected by the TPB between 8 and 29 May 2018. The reports were also uploaded to the URA’s website for public inspection until the draft DSP was considered by the TPB. After handling all the views received, the TPB would decide when to commence a two-month public consultation on the draft DSP under section 5 of the Town Planning Ordinance. Upon completion of all statutory planning procedures and public consultation, the TPB would submit the draft DSP to the Chief Executive in Council for approval, which would normally take about 18 months or more to complete. The URA might only issue acquisition offers to property owners affected by the scheme after obtaining such

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approval.

98. The Chairman invited views from Members. The main points of their comments were as follows:

(a) Mr KAM Nai-wai said that he had attended a number of residents’ meetings to listen to the residents’ views. The residents in general had the following comments on the development scheme. First, they opined that the 5-a-side soccer pitch to be demolished under the scheme should be retained. Second, according to the plans, only half of the Li Sing Street Playground would be reprovisioned under the scheme, the remaining half separated by Sutherland Street would not be reprovisioned. Mr KAM said that if the URA wished to improve the park, it should improve the park in its entirety in phases, so that some parts of the park could still be open to the public during the improvement works. Third, regarding the RCP, residents noted from the plans that the reprovisioned RCP would have three storeys. As the existing RCP was of one or two storeys high, residents of lower floors of Kam Yu Mansion next to the RCP had opinions about the height increase and hoped that the URA could reduce the height of the reprovisioned RCP. Fourth, 10 parking spaces and two storeys of retail floor space would be provided by the development scheme. Mr KAM reckoned that compared to the 200 residential units, 10 parking spaces were only a drop in the bucket and thus not useful. He suggested making better use of the spaces concerned. Besides, Mr KAM pointed out that as the site was scarcely visited after 6 or 7 pm in the evening, the provision of shops on the second floor of the proposed development was meaningless and which could only be used for storage purpose in the future. Mr KAM said that he did not object to the provision of a few ground floor shops in the proposed development, but it was not necessary to provide shops on the second floor. He suggested provision of residential care home premises on the upper floors, and pointed out that if the URA did not take the opportunity of redevelopment to provide residential care home premises, it would be difficult to find space for such purpose in the district in future. Mr KAM also said that according to the Stage 2 SIA Report, among the 12 interviewed business operators, only three were owner operators and only five would like to continue their businesses within the same district. He opined that it would not be possible for the operators to wait 10 years for relocating their businesses back to the site in 2027.

(b) Mr YEUNG Hok-ming said that after listening to the briefing by the URA and holding several meetings with the residents, he would like to give his views to the URA. He said that apart from the views relayed by Mr KAM Nai-wai just now, he was also concerned that the proposed building of the redevelopment scheme would

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block the views of residents of nearby buildings. He hoped that the URA would arrange the disposition of the building in such a way as to avoid excessive proximity with nearby buildings like Kam Yu Mansion. Apart from reprovisioning the 5-a-side soccer pitch, Mr YEUNG suggested increasing open space provision and providing facilities for the elderly, such as by reducing ground floor shop space to free up more space for public enjoyment. He also said that residents hoped that the Li Sing Street Playground could be redeveloped in its entirety to provide comprehensive supporting facilities.

(c) Ms CHENG Lai-king said that the opening of the MTR Sai Ying Pun Station had attracted the URA to redevelop the area. She pointed out that there was a lack of soccer pitch in the area. There would be no soccer pitch facilities during the implementation of the redevelopment project and no alternative soccer pitch was available in the area. As the soccer pitch was popular among the public, she did not want it to be included in the redevelopment area. She also hoped that innovative design would be adopted for the future open space and facilities. In addition, Ms CHENG hoped that the URA would explore the construction of underground RCP and carpark for the use of the community to optimise land resources. She also said that it would be more appropriate to provide residential care homes than shops at the site, and that many elderly people in the area had urgent needs for residential care home places. She considered that in the course of redevelopment, the URA should use the land resumed from the community for the benefit of the community.

(d) Mr NG Siu-hong shared Ms CHENG Lai-king’s views, remarking that there was a lack of sports facilities in the area. The 5-a-side soccer pitch at the Li Sing Street Playground was complementary to the 7-a-side soccer pitch at Blake Gardens. Hence, he hoped that the 5-a-side soccer pitch at the Li Sing Street Playground could be retained, and considered that apart from reprovisioning the soccer pitch under the redevelopment scheme, the URA had to ensure that the future soccer pitch could meet residents’ needs.

99. In response to Members’ views, Mr AU of the URA said that he was aware of Members’ concern about the 5-a-side soccer pitch at the Li Sing Street Playground. He said that the URA had discussed with relevant government departments before the scheme commenced. If support from the Council was obtained, it was hoped to provide the necessary park facilities within the area, such as facilities for the elderly or soccer pitch. Subject to the approval of the scheme, the URA would be pleased to improve the park in phases through revitalisation and facilitate the construction of an access linking the park. Drawing on past experiences from Pak Tsz Lane and Cochrane Street, the URA hoped to join hands with relevant government

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departments, including the Home Affairs Department (HAD), the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) and the FEHD, together with the C&WDC to set up an ad hoc steering group to implement the relevant revitalisation and beautification project. As the scheme was pending approval and there was still some time before its implementation, the URA would like to follow up with the C&WDC and the HAD on the relevant matter after the scheme was approved and further discuss about the scope and details of park revitalisation and beautification. As the completed park would be handed over to the LCSD for management, the URA would have to discuss the relevant details with the LCSD. The RCP to be reprovisioned must also meet the needs of the FEHD. In response to the suggestion on the construction of underground RCP, Mr AU said that this might be possible in the future, but at this stage the design of the facility must comply with the FEHD’s requirements and prevailing standards. He said that the development scheme was still in the initial planning process, detailed design of any facility was pending further study after the scheme was approved. In response to the views on cancellation of the carpark, Mr AU said that the Transport Department had established standards on the minimum number of parking spaces provided by development projects. The URA had to meet the requirements of the relevant standards. In response to the views on cancellation of shops on the second floor, Mr AU said that after conducting the Stage 2 SIA, it was also noted that business operators had little interest to relocate their businesses back to the original site. He said that since the URA had yet to issue acquisition offers, it would be too early to consider how many spaces should be reserved for shops with unique district characteristics to relocate back to continue their businesses. Further discussion with the Council on the subject could be conducted after the scheme was approved. In addition, the URA would also study the feasibility of handing over some floor space to non-government organisations to operate community facilities. He hoped that a balance could be achieved. Mr AU said that as the TPB was currently conducting a public consultation on the scheme, Members were advised to consider submitting the relevant views to the TPB.

100. Mr KAM Nai-wai pointed out that residential care home places would be in tight supply in the future. He hoped that the URA would consider providing residential care homes in all redevelopment projects, and suggested that the Chairman should submit the relevant part of the minutes to the TPB to relay the C&WDC’s views. In addition, Mr KAM said that he was not sure if the URA would give a reply on whether the Li Sing Street Playground would be redeveloped as a whole. He hoped that the URA would confirm the Council and give an undertaking.

101. Mr LEE Chi-hang said that since the project involved the planning of a reprovisioned RCP, he asked whether the URA could consider handling food waste collection in the facility. He pointed out that there was a lack of food waste collection facilities in buildings in Hong Kong. If such practice could be piloted in URA's buildings, it could set an example in this regard.

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102. Mr AU of the URA replied that the URA would consider exploring the feasibility of installing food waste collection facilities in projects in other districts. In response to Mr KAM Nai-wai’s enquiry, Mr AU said that the URA would like to set up an ad hoc steering group to further discuss the subject after the scheme was approved. If by then it was considered necessary to revitalise and beautify the Li Sing Street Playground as a whole, the URA could complement in this regard.

103. The Chairman said that the draft minutes would be submitted to the TPB. He then closed the discussion on these items.

Item 7: Concern over Radiation Emitted from Mobile Base Stations of Telecommunications Companies

(C&W DC Paper No. 48/2018) (5:17 pm – 5:41 pm)

105. The Chairman welcomed representative of the Office of the Communications Authority (OFCA) to the meeting.

107. Mr CHAN Choi-hi said that according to the written reply from the OFCA, Hong Kong currently had more than 52 000 radio base stations (base stations) and about 4 800 (approximately 10%) of which were located in the Central and Western District, which was a rather large proportion. Base stations in the Central District and Sai Wan were also densely distributed. He said the public was of the view that if base stations could be situated in scattered locations, it could allay their concerns about effect due to exposure to radiation. He said although the OFCA cited the standard of the World Health Organization (WHO) that there was no convincing scientific evidence that the radiofrequency signals from base stations caused adverse health effects, he was worried that as the number of base stations continued to increase, the radiation level emitted would also increase. Residents were concerned that exposure to radiation in densely-populated and built-up environment would cause adverse health effects. Mr CHAN asked about the number of complaints received on excessive level of radiation; the response of the OFCA on the 600 enquiries or complaints relating to radiation safety of base stations; how the OFCA assessed the severity of the complaints; and of the 600 cases, how many were related to the Central and Western District.

109. Mr YEUNG Hok-ming said that he had submitted a discussion paper on the subject earlier on. He remarked that the Communications Authority (CA) had not set standards for radiation measurement according to Hong Kong’s conditions, instead only applied the safety standards of other countries for measurement purpose. He opined that the

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Government should consider the matter from the perspective of residents. He understood that radiation emitted from base station might not necessarily cause adverse health effects, but could have serious psychological impact on residents. This was especially so when there were extensive media reports using real case examples to demonstrate that base stations in close proximity would increase the risk of cancer, thereby arousing concern among residents. As such, the matter should not be taken lightly. In addition, he pointed out that some transmitting antenna of the base stations on the rooftop of the Shek Tong Tsui Municipal Services Building had been relocated, but some could not yet be removed. He hoped that in granting approval for base station installation, the CA or the Government Property Agency would consider the feelings of nearby residents and impact of the installation on their daily lives, and assess the level of acceptance of residents. He hoped that the Government would take into account people’s living while promoting free flow of information.

111. Ms CHENG Lai-king said that according to her understanding, telecommunications companies did not have to pay a large amount of money to install base stations. She cited the Shek Tong Tsui Municipal Services Building as an example, saying that the height of the building was only half that of a residential block. The base stations installed on the rooftop of the building were thus in close proximity to residential dwellings, residents could even touch the antennas by stretching out their hands. Ms CHENG had conducted home visits in the relevant flats. Residents there said that they would arrange their children to move out to protect them from radiation exposure. They had to close windows round the clock, and buy radiation-proof wall paper online or wrap the walls with aluminium foil to reduce harm, thus degrading the quality of their living environment. She said that the relevant parties claimed that they had consulted the owners' corporations (OCs) before installing the base stations, but she reckoned that probably not every OC would actually convey the message to and consult owners or residents on the matter. When owners knew afterwards that a base station was to be installed, nothing could be changed by then. In addition, Ms CHENG believed that if the OFCA made public the locations of individual base stations in the district, it would find that there were not only 4 800 base stations. She urged the Government to take the problem seriously and gather more information on radiation from base stations. 113. Miss LO Yee-hang shared Member’s views and said that she had also received complaints from residents of the district about the locations of base stations. She said that although according to the guidelines of the WHO radiation generated by base stations would not cause adverse health effects, it had already exerted psychological pressure on the public, and many people blamed base stations for their illnesses. She remarked that there were about 4 800 base stations in the Central and Western District according to the OFCA, such a huge figure would arouse residents’ anxiety. She suggested that the OFCA should enhance public understanding of base station safety through education. In addition, Miss LO said that even if

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the relevant parties had consulted OCs before installing base stations, it did not mean that residents of the whole building were aware of the installation works. She hoped that the OFCA would improve its publicity approach and make efforts to allay residents' concerns on base stations. She said that installation of base stations might be unavoidable in modern days, but efforts should be made to reduce its harmful impact on the public.

115. Mr KAM Nai-wai said that he had written to the CA to convey a complaint from a resident in Sheung Wan. The complainant claimed that the health of his family members had deteriorated significantly several months after moving into their new home, with symptoms including headache, sleep disturbance and serious skin allergies. The complainant had asked the management company to measure the frequency of electromagnetic waves in his flat. The result showed that a radiation reaction level of 20 000 wu/m2 was detected inside his flat, representing an extreme level of interference. The complainant had bought anti-electromagnetic glass stickers and stuck them on the windows, but the situation had not improved. Mr KAM enquired how the OFCA handled complaints of this kind, and for the said case, when the household found that the frequency of electromagnetic waves inside its flat had reached high level of interference, whether the OFCA was duty-bound to request the telecommunications company to remove the base station concerned. He added that according to the photos provided by the complainant, there were about 10 transmitting antennas placed near the flat concerned, which was quite a lot indeed.

117. The Chairman understood that to tie in with the trend of technological development, base station installation was unavoidable. He suggested that the CA should set standard for the minimum distance between base station and transmitting antennas, and that only five to six transmitting antennas could be placed sporadically on a building to reduce the harmful impact on residents.

119. Mr CHAN Choi-hi said that he did not accept what the OFCA said in its written reply that it was not appropriate to make public the details of individual base stations. He opined that the relevant information should be made public, and suggested that the OFCA should collect information on the locations of the 4 800 base stations in the district within one to two months and provide such information to the C&WDC. If the OFCA failed to provide the information within the specified time, he suggested that the C&WDC should write to the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau to request for the relevant information. In addition, Mr CHAN said that the standard adopted by the CA for measuring radiation level was low. In light of the rapid technological advancement, he asked whether the CA would revise the measurement standard for the sake of public health.

121. The Chairman responded that if the OFCA was unable to provide information on the detailed locations of the 4 800 base stations in the district at the meeting,

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he hoped that it could provide the relevant information to the C&WDC within one month for release to the public. 123. Mr FUNG Chi-hung , Senior Telecommunications Engineer (Spectrum Planning) 2 of the OFCA, said that according to the professional advice from the Department of Health (DH), unlike ionising radiation such as X-rays and nuclear radiation, radiofrequency electromagnetic fields generated by base stations were a type of non-ionising radiation. He said that non-ionising radiation had lower energy and was insufficient to change the chemical properties of substances. It could not cause harm by breaking chemical bonds in the human body. He said that in order to ensure the radiation safety of radio installations, the CA in consultation with the DH, had adopted the non-ionising radiation limits proposed in the “Guidelines for Limiting Exposure to Time-varying Electric, Magnetic, and Electromagnetic Fields” (the Guidelines) as the radiation safety standards. The Guidelines were developed by the International Commission on Non-ionising Radiation Protection (ICNIRP), an independent scientific commission, and were recognised by the WHO. He said the WHO considered that at present, there was insufficient evidence to suggest that exposure to non-ionising radiation below the exposure limits recommended in the Guidelines would cause any adverse health effects. He added that the ICNIRP limits or similar requirements were widely adopted by some developed economies such as the United States, Canada, Germany, France and Australia, and economies with dense population such as Singapore, Japan and Korea. Besides, Mr FUNG said that mobile network operators (MNOs) were required to submit applications to the CA before bringing their base stations into use. As the executive arm of the CA, the OFCA would assess whether the total radiation level at the location of the base stations complied with the safety standards before granting approvals. Hence, it was not appropriate to use the number of base stations used by MNOs as the only factor for consideration. In addition, MNOs were required to provide the OFCA with measurement reports within one month from the commencement of operation of their base stations to demonstrate that the radiation level of the base stations complied with the safety standards. Over the past three years, the OFCA received some 600 enquiries or complaints relating to radiation safety of base stations. The OFCA would explain the radiation safety standards to the complainants. If the complainants were concerned about the radiation levels of base stations near their homes, the OFCA would deploy its staff to conduct on-site measurements of radiation level to ensure that the radiation level complied with the safety standards. Regarding installation of base stations on the rooftop of government properties, Mr FUNG said that a reply on the matter could not be provided as no representative of the Government Property Agency was present at the meeting. As to the remark that the radiation safety standards for base stations adopted in Germany were more stringent than those adopted in Hong Kong, he said that the German Government had also adopted the non-ionising radiation limits proposed by the ICNIRP as the radiation safety standards for base stations. On the education front, he said that the OFCA had set up a website to provide information about

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electromagnetic radiation generated by base stations. He continued that if members of the public were concerned about the radiation level of base stations, they might call the OFCA’s hotline to request on-site measurement of radiation level. In addition, Mr FUNG said that the information on base stations submitted by MNOs, including the locations of base stations, was belonged to the MNOs and mainly for the purpose of applying for the use of base stations. Hence, it was not appropriate to make public such information. As regards Members’ suggestion for the CA to adopt more stringent radiation safety standards, he said that the CA had consulted the DH before adopting the current radiation safety standards. The relevant standards were recognised by the WHO. The CA had no plan to change its practice of adopting the non-ionising radiation limits proposed in the ICNIRP’s Guidelines as the radiation safety standards. 125. In response to the Chairman’s enquiry on the number of base stations in the district, Mr FUNG of the OFCA said that such information was set out in the OFCA’s written reply. He added that if members of the public were concerned about the radiation level of base stations near their homes, they might call the OFCA’s hotline to request for on-site measurement of radiation level. According to past experience, conducting on-site measurement could help allay public concerns about radiation.

127. Mr CHAN Choi-hi reiterated that he did not accept that the OFCA was unable to make public details of the locations of individual base stations in the district. He hoped that the Chairman would write to the Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development to relay Members’ wish to obtain the relevant information.

129. The Chairman agreed to write to the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau in order obtain the relevant information. He then closed the discussion on this item.

Item 8: Strong Request for the Proper and Sensible Handling by Central & WesternDistrict Council Secretariat of Papers Submitted by C&WDC Members

(C&W DC Paper No. 49/2018) (5:41 pm – 5:51 pm)

131. The Vice-chairman welcomed representatives of the C&WDO to the meeting.

133. Mr KAM Nai-wai was concerned that the Secretariat, in handling large volume of emails, might overlook emails from individual Members. He said that according to the written reply from the Secretariat, the Secretariat would issue an acknowledgement email upon receipt of papers submitted by Members via email. In addition, Mr KAM cited the reply from the Secretariat that in case a paper received could not be tabled for discussion at the

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upcoming meeting (such as in excess of the maximum number of items stipulated in the Standing Orders for discussion), such paper would normally be tabled for discussion at the subsequent meeting. Given the chairlady had discretion in handling meeting papers, he asked why the Secretariat, after receiving the paper, did not consult the chairlady in advance to see whether she would exercise discretion. In addition, Mr KAM said that in some committees, the issue of backlog of discussion papers was serious. Sometimes papers submitted would have to wait half a year before they could be discussed at committee meetings, by then Members might not remember the time of submission. Mr KAM suggested that if a committee had backlog of discussion papers, the Secretariat should inform members of the committee concerned the number of backlog and prepare a simple list of the titles of the papers to provide a degree of certainty to members.

135. Ms YEUNG Wing-shan , Senior Executive Officer (District Council) of the C&WDO, said that the Secretariat would issue an acknowledgement email upon receipt of discussion papers submitted by Members via email. Besides, Ms YEUNG said that under normal circumstances, if a paper submitted by Member was, at the time of submission, in excess of the maximum number of items stipulated in the Standing Orders for discussion, or if it was submitted after the paper submission deadline for the upcoming meeting, it would normally be construed by the Secretariat as to be discussed at the subsequent meeting. If a Member expressed the wish for the chairman concerned to exercise discretion for a paper, the Secretariat would consult the chairman concerned accordingly. In the case of Mr KAM, the Secretariat had mistaken that the paper submitted by Mr KAM was intended for discussion at the third meeting of the District Facilities Management Committee (DFMC) to be held on 31 May 2018, so it did not ask the chairlady whether she would exercise discretion. Regarding Mr KAM's hope for the Secretariat to provide members with information on the papers awaiting to be discussed for committees with huge backlog of papers, Ms YEUNG said that the Secretariat would explore ways to optimise the mechanism in order to keep members informed of the status of those papers, such as the number of papers awaiting to be discussed, the dates of meetings at which the papers were scheduled for discussion, etc.

137. Mr KAM said that the C&WDC would convene meetings every week and so there were numerous deadlines for paper submission. Members might not be aware that the deadline had already passed when they submitted papers. He suggested that the Secretariat should submit all the papers received to the chairman concerned for him to decide whether the papers would be tabled for discussion at the upcoming meeting. In addition, Mr KAM asked whether the Secretariat could provide for members’ reference a list of papers awaiting to be discussed on a monthly basis.

139. Ms YEUNG Wing-shan of the C&WDO responded that if the Secretariat was aware that Mr KAM’s paper was intended for discussion at the DFMC meeting held on 22

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March 2018, and even though Mr KAM did not express the wish for the chairlady to exercise discretion for the paper, the Secretariat would have submitted Mr KAM’s paper to the chairlady promptly and consult the chairlady whether she would exercise discretion. This incident originated from the Secretariat’s misunderstanding that the paper submitted by Mr KAM was intended for discussion at the DFMC meeting to be held on 31 May 2018, and so it was not handled promptly.

141. The Vice-chairman suggested that the Secretariat and the District Officer (Central and Western) should review again the paper submission process. He would also discuss with the Chairmen of the Council and its committees on optimising the relevant procedures. The Vice-chairman said that the Secretariat was performing its duties in accordance with the consensus forged through communication with Members. For example, the Secretariat would remind Members of the paper submission deadline for the next meeting at the end of each meeting, and would subsequently notify Members via email of the paper submission deadline, deadline for submission of motions, etc. The Vice-chairman understood that Members received loads of emails and might not be able to take note of the content of each email. In addition, he said that while there were many subjects for discussion in the C&WDC, the C&WDC Standing Orders had stipulated the limit on the number of items raised for discussion at each meeting and the exercise of discretion by the Chairman was required. The Vice-chairman opined that Members might also discuss whether changes had to be made to the Standing Orders.

143. Mr CHAN Choi-hi agreed that a review might be conducted on the relevant procedures, particularly in view of the huge backlog awaiting to be discussed in some committees. He suggested that the Secretariat might ask the members who submitted the papers whether they would consider to revert some discussion papers to written questions.

145. The Vice-chairman closed the discussion on this item.

Item 9: Urgent Concern over Rodent Problem at Hong Kong Park (C&W DC Paper No. 50/2018) (5:51 pm – 6:09 pm)

147. The Vice-chairman welcomed representatives of the LCSD and the FEHD to the meeting, and invited discussion on the paper.

149. The Vice-chairman invited views from Members. The main points of their comments were as follows:

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(a) Mr YEUNG Hok-ming said that as noted from the replies of the government departments concerned, the authorities had failed to combat rodent infestation in Hong Kong Park. He also pointed out that given the high diversity of species in the park, there was a need to provide food for the animals and birds, but at the same time there was no measure to eradicate rodent infestation. Mr YEUNG reckoned that the departments concerned were at their wits’ end in the face of rodent infestation. He suggested that if there was no rodent control expert in Hong Kong, consideration might be given to invite overseas experts to Hong Kong to recommend effective rodent control measures. He also reminded the authorities to avoid injuring other animals by mistake when tackling rodent infestation in Hong Kong Park, and that the use of poisonous bait might endanger rare animals in the park. In addition, Mr YEUNG said that the cleaning and management services of Hong Kong Park had been outsourced. The LCSD as the regulatory authority should make efforts to address the problem and find ways to effectively tackle rodent infestation.

(b) Mr YEUNG Hoi-wing said he learned from press reports that there was rodent infestation in Hong Kong Park. Remarking that usually places likely to have rodent problems were residential dwellings or restaurants, he considered it inconceivable for a park to have such problem. Mr YEUNG said that rodents only appeared in places with food. He suspected that the rodent infestation was caused by improper handling and clearing of animal feed by the park, with the feed being left unattended after being placed at feed containers, resulting in competition (for food) and coexistence between rodents and animals. He hoped that the LCSD and the FEHD could ensure proper monitoring.

(c) Miss LO Yee-hang said that she considered it inconceivable after reading the relevant press reports. She said that Hong Kong Park was a tourist attraction visited by many tourists, children and elderly people, so it was totally unacceptable for the place to have rodent problem. In view of the growing problem of rodent infestation in Hong Kong, she shared Mr YEUNG Hok-ming’s views and suggested that the FEHD should face up to the problem and invite overseas experts to explore ways to address it. Considering that there were many precious animals in Hong Kong Park, Miss LO advised that attention should be paid to other animals and birds when tackling rodent infestation.

(d) Mr CHAN Choi-hi believed that there were many experts within the FEHD and the problem could be solved locally without the need for assistance from overseas experts. He said that the problem was serious as rodents might transmit bacteria to other animals and cause cross infection. He suggested that management and

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cleaning work should be enhanced in the first place to improve the environmental hygiene of the whole park, and rodent cage traps should be placed in appropriate locations. Also, CCTV should be installed at suitable positions to monitor high risk locations of rodent infestation.

151. In response to Members’ enquiries, Ms SIU Tak-yee, Manager (HK Park) of the LCSD, said that the number of rodents found in Hong Kong Park had increased recently. Given the natural geographical constraints of Hong Kong Park, the aviary therein was located on natural hillside. The slope at the entrance was covered with dense woodlands and vegetation and a drain was provided there. These environmental factors had attracted many rodents to congregate and hide. In addition, the aviary kept a variety of birds and the department had to feed them every day. Even though the department had been stepping up cleaning of the aviary, there would still be feed residue left after feeding the birds and some of which would inevitably be scattered over the floor by the birds.

153. In view of the concerns on rodent infestation in Hong Kong Park, apart from on-going measures including setting of baited cages and stepping up cleaning efforts, measures were also implemented to eliminate the food source of rodents. For example, the LCSD had increased the frequency of feeding of birds from twice a day to four times a day, and feed portion per feeding was reduced to minimise the amount of feed residue falling and scattering on the floor. Frequency of venue cleaning after feeding was also increased from twice a day to after each feeding in order to reduce the food source of rodents. A significant drop was noted in the number of rodents recently. Besides, Ms SIU pointed out that to protect other animals in the park, poisonous bait for rodent disinfestation had not been used in the past. Recently, taking the recommendations from the joint study by the LCSD’s Veterinary Section and the Pest Control Section under FEHD, the LCSD placed bait boxes containing poisonous bait at high risk locations of rodent infestation. Ms SIU said she understood Members’ concerns about the possible harm of placing bait boxes to the health of birds in the park, but veterinaries considered that as the bait boxes had small openings, it was unlikely for birds to enter the boxes by mistake. After trial adoption of some two weeks, no incident of birds entering the bait boxes was found. Furthermore, improvement had also been made to the suspended feed containers for feeding birds. The new material being used had smoother surface, which could prevent rodents from accessing the containers. In respect of feed, Ms SIU said that all along the feed given to birds would not be left overnight. Staff would thoroughly clean the venue and clear all feed residual on the floor at the end of the working day. The relevant measures would be carried out on an on-going basis. As regards Members' suggestion to place baited cages in the park, Ms SIU said that the department had been hiring professional pest control contractor to place baited cages in the park. The department signed a new service contract in May and had requested the contractor to increase the number of baited cages to nearly 100, and could make further request for increasing the number of cages, if

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necessary. In addition, the baited cages inside the aviary had been handled by LCSD staff. In response to the recent situation, a contractor was engaged to assist in rodent control and placement of baited cages. Meanwhile, the department had placed another type of rodent cage traps in the aviary. The number of the above two types of rodent-trapping devices placed in the park totalled about 30. If the problem of rodent infestation continued or worsen, the department would consider increasing the number of rodent cage traps. Ms SIU said that since the implementation of a series of measures, the department had noted a significant drop in the number of rodents. The aforementioned anti-rodent work was believed to be largely effective. 155. Mr LEE Tze-wah , District Environmental Hygiene Superintendent (Central/Western) of the FEHD, said that despite the unique situation of the aviary in Hong Kong Park, he did not believe that the rodent problem there could not be eradicated. Rodent disinfestation methods basically included improving environmental hygiene, elimination of food sources for rodents, and removing and blocking harbourages for rodents. He said that the FEHD’s expert team should be able to give advice on this.

157. Mr CHEUNG Ka-yun , Head (Rodent Risk Assessment & Advisory Unit) of the FEHD, added that the FEHD and the LCSD had jointly inspected the aviary and found that it was a semi-enclosed environment. Apart from the main entrance, it was possible to block rodent passages to the aviary. Efforts had been made by LCSD staff in this regard, including filling of suspected rodent holes. Since environment that mimicked natural settings was conducive to rodent reproduction, the LCSD had made improvements on feeding of birds. Frequency of feeding was increased from twice a day to four times a day. Feed residue was cleared daily. These could significantly reduce food sources for rodents. Since the aviary housed many rare bird species, Members were concerned that the birds might eat the poisonous baits by mistake. The department recommended that the LCSD should adopt special design for devices for holding baits, so as to prevent birds from eating poisonous baits by mistake while combating rodent infestation. Initial effectiveness was seen in this regard. Apart from the aviary, there were many restaurants inside and around the park. Visitors would also bring food to the park. Hence, the FEHD had specifically reminded the LCSD to pay attention to hygiene condition outside the aviary and step up anti-rodent work, so that visitors would feel more comfortable to visit Hong Kong Park.

159. The Vice-chairman hoped that the LCSD and the FEHD would sustain their anti-rodent efforts. He then closed the discussion on this item.

Item 10: Members’ Written Reports(6:09 pm – 6:10 pm)

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161. The Vice-chairman reported on behalf of the District Fight Crime Committee (Central and Western District) (DFCC) that the DFCC would hold its first meeting for 2018-19 on 18 May 2018 (Friday).

Item 11: Work Reports of the Committees under C&WDC (6:10 pm)

163. The Vice-chairman referred Members to the following papers.

(a) Culture, Leisure & Social Affairs Committee(C&W DC Paper No. 52/2018)

(b) District Facilities Management Committee(C&W DC Paper No. 53/2018)

(c) Finance Committee(C&W DC Paper No. 54/2018)

(d) Food, Environment, Hygiene & Works Committee(C&W DC Paper No. 55/2018)

(e) Traffic & Transport Committee(C&W DC Paper No. 56/2018)

Item 12: Reports of the Working Groups under C&WDC (2018-19)(6:10 pm – 6:24 pm)

165. The Vice-chairman referred Members to the paper and asked if the chairmen of the working groups had anything to add. He said that the Working Group on the Central & Western District Harbourfront would convene its second meeting on 11 May 2018. The agenda items of that meeting included advance promenade works at the berths in the former Western District Public Cargo Working Area, report on opening of the Central and Western District Signature Project, and discussion on the Western Wholesale Food Market Flea Market cum Carnival 2019.

167. Mr YEUNG Hok-ming said that at the meeting of the Working Group on Concern over the Development of the Central Police Station Compound and Former Police Married

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Quarters held on 23 April 2018, members of the working group suggested that item 3 of the terms of reference be amended from "Explore development of the Central District and Sheung Wan as a historic town district" to "Explore conservation of the Central District and Sheung Wan as a historic town district". Mr YEUNG opined that amendment to the terms of reference must be endorsed by the C&WDC, and said that the revised terms of reference was rather incompatible with the name of the working group. He would like to discuss at the meeting whether the name of the working group would have to change as well. He pointed out that as far as the current name was concerned, the terms of reference should only include discussion on the two projects (i.e. the Central Police Station Compound and the Former Police Married Quarters). If the terms of reference was to include conservation of the Central District and Sheung Wan, it did not seem to tie in with the name of the working group. He asked Members of their opinions on change of name of the working group. 169. Mr KAM Nai-wai opined that for amendment to the terms of reference and change of name of the working group, a consensus could first be sought at the working group before submitting the matter to the C&WDC for endorsement.

171. The Vice-chairman said that at the time the working group was established, some Members suggested to include "Explore development of the Central District and Sheung Wan as a historic town district" in its terms of reference. At that time the Council suggested that the amendment should first be discussed by the working group, and should only be submitted to the C&WDC for endorsement after a consensus was reached by the working group.

173. Ms NG Hoi-yan said that at the first working group meeting held in early April 2018, there had been considerable discussions on the terms of reference among members. Given the time constraints, members had only reached consensus on amendment to the terms of reference at that meeting, and planned to discuss change of name of the working group at the next meeting. Hence, Ms NG hoped that amendment to the terms of reference of the working group would be endorsed at this Council meeting first. As regards change of name of the working group, she said that it would be discussed at the next meeting of the working group. A consensus would have to be reached by the working group before the matter was submitted to the Council for endorsement.

175. The Vice-chairman said that amendment to the terms of reference of the working group had to be endorsed by the Council of the C&WDC.

177. Mr YEUNG Hok-ming said that at the said working group meeting, no consensus was reached on changing the name of the working group at the next meeting, as there were views commenting that since the name of the working group was given by the C&WDC, a change of name would need to be discussed at a Council meeting.

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179. Ms NG Hoi-yan added that at the first working group meeting, there were divergent views among members on change of name of the working group and the boundary definition (i.e. “Central District and Sheung Wan”) of item 3 of the terms of reference. Hence, it was proposed to discuss how the boundary covered by item 3 of the terms of reference should be defined and how the name of the working group should be changed at the second meeting before submitting the matters to the Council for endorsement. She stressed that according to her understanding, this was the consensus reached at the first working group meeting.

181. Mr KAM Nai-wai said that whether it was about amending the terms of reference of the working group, defining the boundary of the historic town district, or changing the name of the working group, a consensus had to be reached by members at working group meeting before submitting the matter to the Council for endorsement. He considered that there was no need for the Council to discuss afresh of the matter concerned, instead it only had to decide whether to endorse the consensus of the working group.

183. The Vice-chairman shared Mr KAM Nai-wai’s views, and suggested that the working group should first reach a consensus on its terms of reference and name before submitting all the relevant proposals in one go to the Council for endorsement. In addition, the Vice-chairman opined that under normal circumstances, the Council would not change the name of a working group subsequent to the latter’s establishment, unless the working group concerned was dissolved by the Council or had fulfilled its mandate.

185. Mr YEUNG Hok-ming indicated that at the said working group meeting, a member proposed to extend the terms of reference of the working group to include conservation of the whole Central and Western District. He and some Members expressed opposition to the proposal, and thus a consensus could not be reached at that meeting. He asked how the matter should be proceeded with if the working group had not been able to reach a consensus at its meeting.

187. Mr KAM Nai-wai responded that if the working group had not been able to reach a consensus on amending its terms of reference, the contentious amendment proposal could be submitted to the Council and put to vote by Members. Besides, he disagreed with the Vice-chairman that the Council could not change the name of a working group subsequent to the latter’s establishment. He remarked that at a previous Council meeting, a consensus had been reached on adding "Explore development of the Central District and Sheung Wan as a historic town district" to the terms of reference of the Working Group on Concern over the Development of the Central Police Station Compound and Former Police Married Quarters. He opined that a working group’s name should be able to reflect its functions, and said that there were previous examples of change of name of working group.

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189. Mr LEE Chi-hang opined that as the working group had failed to reach a consensus on amendment to the terms of reference and name of the working group, these proposals should not be discussed at this Council meeting. He suggested that the working group should reach a consensus first and then submit the matters to the Council for endorsement.

191. Ms NG Hoi-yan said that as the addition of "Explore development of the Central District and Sheung Wan as a historic town district" to the terms of reference of the working group was endorsed at a previous Council meeting, "Explore development of the Central District and Sheung Wan as a historic town district" was already included as item 3 in the working group’s terms of reference. Subsequently at the said working group meeting, as some members suggested to change “development” to “conservation”, it was thus proposed that item 3 be amended to "Explore conservation of the Central District and Sheung Wan as a historic town district". The amendment proposal concerned was already set out in the report of the working group. The working group was simply tabling this amendment at this meeting for endorsement by the Council and did not intend to change the boundary definition from “Central District and Sheung Wan” to “Central and Western District”. Ms NG said she learned from the Secretariat that the Working Group on Mid-levels Escalators in the Central & Western District had also changed its name before. Hence, it was planned to discuss change of name of the working group and boundary of the Central District and Sheung Wan at the next working group meeting. After completing the relevant deliberation at the next working group meeting, the matters would be submitted to the Council for approval.

193. The Vice-chairman responded that the working group’s terms of reference was to be discussed by the working group itself. Should there be any amendment, the Council’s endorsement was required. He suggested that amendments should be submitted in full report format to the Council for endorsement only after consensus had been reached by members of the working group. He also said that the name of the Working Group on Mid-levels Escalators in the Central & Western District was changed at the time of establishment.

195. Ms NG Hoi-yan reiterated that the report of the working group submitted by her was clear and detailed, which had set out the proposed amendment to the terms of reference submitted for endorsement. As regards change of name of the working group and other amendments, they would be submitted for endorsement by the Council after the working group had completed deliberation.

197. The Vice-chairman closed the discussion on this item.

Item 13: Report on the 208th Meeting of the Central & Western District

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Management Committee (C&W DC Paper No. 57/2018) (6:24 pm – 6:25 pm)

199. The Chairman referred Members to the paper.

Item 14: Reports on the Meetings of the Area Committees of the Central & Western District

(C&W DC Paper No. 58/2018) (6:25 pm)

201. The Chairman referred Members to the paper.

Item 15: Any Other Business(6:25 pm)

203. There was no other business.

Item 16: Date of the Next Meeting

205. The Chairman announced that the fifteenth meeting would be held on 5 July 2018. The paper submission deadline for government departments would be 12 June 2018, while that for Members would be 19 June 2018.

The minutes were confirmed on 5 July 2018

Chairman: Mr YIP Wing-shing

Secretary: Ms YEUNG Wing-shan, Grace

Central and Western District Council SecretariatJuly 2018

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