*******************************
Following is a question by the Hon Wu Chi-wai, and a written reply by the Secretary for Transport and Housing, Professor Anthony Cheung Bing-leung, in the Legislative Council today (November 14):
Question:
As the number of people waiting for public rental housing (PRH) continues to increase in recent years, the Hong Kong Housing Authority (HA) launched the Refined Policy on Redevelopment of Aged Public Rental Housing Estates (Refined Policy) last year to increase the supply of PRH units and decided that Pat Tin Estate would be redeveloped under the Refined Policy. Moreover, the Chief Executive has also undertaken in his manifesto that he will "redevelop old public housing estates with outdated facilities or low plot ratios but possessing redevelopment potentials". The former Secretary for Development also indicated early this year that consideration would be given, when necessary, to allocate more sites on the Application List which remained idle for a long time for PRH or Home Ownership Scheme (HOS) housing development. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the details of each PRH estate completed over 30 years ago, including the age of the buildings, existing plot ratio and maximum height, the approved plot ratio and statutory height restriction of the site concerned, as well as the average maintenance cost for each unit;
(b) as the authorities indicated in May this year that they were conducting redevelopment studies on six aged housing estates, of the names of those six housing estates and progress of the studies; of the expected time for completion of the studies and commencement of redevelopment works; as land supply is insufficient, whether HA will expeditiously conduct studies on more redevelopment projects or expand the scope of the existing studies; if it will, of the details;
(c) given that when the Government launched in the 1990s a large-scale comprehensive redevelopment programme for PRH, it adopted a redevelopment schedule based on a five-year rolling programme in order to take forward the redevelopment programme smoothly and orderly, whether the Government will re-launch a similar programme;
(d) as some members of the public have pointed out that the launching of the redevelopment of Pak Tin Estate shortly after completion of the improvement works in the Estate is a waste of resources, whether the Government will lay down objective indicators (e.g. age of the buildings) for the Refined Policy for deciding whether redevelopment studies on individual estates should be initiated, with a view to enhancing transparency of the decision-making process;
(e) as land supply is insufficient at present, whether the Government has any new measures to increase the supply of PRH units; if it has, of the details;
(f) of the total number of sites on the Application List which had been allocated for constructing PRH or HOS housing in each of the past three years, together with a list of the time when each site was allocated for such development, whether the site was allocated for developing PRH or HOS housing, the permissible gross floor area and the number of units to be built; in view of the shortage of PRH sites at present, whether the Government has studied the allocation of more sites on the Application List for PRH or HOS housing development; if it has, of the progress of the study;
(g) as the Government indicated in April 2011 that a number of PRH construction projects needed to be re-submitted to District Councils for consultation due to objection from local communities, of the present status of such projects; of the PRH supply in each of the coming five years according to the Government's latest estimation, and how those figures compare to those submitted by the Government to the Panel on Housing of this Council in July 2011;
(h) as the Government indicated last year that studies were being conducted on a number of sites for medium-to-long-term housing use, among which the preliminary targets for the supply of PRH units for the Development of Anderson Road Quarry and the North East New Territories New Development Areas projects had been set, of the latest estimated supply of PRH units under these projects; and
(i) apart from the aforesaid proposed long-term projects and projects which have already commenced, of the number of finalised PRH and HOS projects to be launched by HA in the next three years together with the project details, including their locations, numbers of units and dates of commencement of works?
Reply:
President,
To address the strong demand for public rental housing (PRH) from the public, the Government and Hong Kong Housing Authority (HA) will actively explore different options to boost the supply of PRH. We will identify sites suitable for PRH development over the territory, and will carefully examine the redevelopment potential of aged PRH estates, so as to increase the supply of PRH flats.
With the input from the Development Bureau (DEVB), my consolidated reply to the nine-part question is as follows:-
(a) At present, the HA has 46 estates above 30 years old with their year of completion and existing building height as listed in Annex 1. Regarding the existing plot ratio, we will have to review the particular setting and circumstances of individual estates against the prevailing planning standards in order to derive such information. As for the maximum permissible plot ratio and maximum building height of the estates, the parameters can only be established through various technical studies and assessments, including the local master planning, urban design and development intensity, visual impact assessment, etc. So far, there are 42 estates of 30 years and above being included into the Comprehensive Structural Investigation Programme (CSIP). Of these, 21 estates have completed the assessment and the average repair cost is about $8,000 per flat.
(b) to (d) The HA launched the Comprehensive Redevelopment Programme (CRP) in 1988 to redevelop by stages some 560 pre-1973 buildings. The CRP was completed in 2009 upon the clearance of the last redevelopment estate. In order to strike a balance between building sustainability and economic repair, the HA launched the CSIP in 2005 to examine aged estates. The estates will be considered for clearance only if the buildings are confirmed to be structurally unsafe and beyond economic repair.
To better assess the building sustainability and redevelopment potential of aged estates, the HA endorsed the Refined Policy on Redevelopment of Aged Public Rental Housing Estates in 2011. In considering clearance and redevelopment of the estates, the HA will refer to the findings of the CSIP on structural safety and cost effectiveness in repair works, and also examine the build-back potential and availability of suitable rehousing resources. By reviewing the specific site characteristics and developable area in the vicinity, the HA will conduct a basket of detailed studies including technical and environmental impact assessments, local master planning, urban design and the development intensity, etc. In the course of the assessment of the individual estates, we will liaise with relevant bureaux and departments in the wider context of the community, welfare, transport and educational facilities, etc. of the districts concerned. Only after the completion of the above procedures can we confirm the feasibility of redeveloping an estate and draw up an implementation programme accordingly.
Pak Tin Estate is the first redevelopment project under the Refined Policy on Redevelopment of Aged Public Rental Housing Estates. The phased clearance will start in 2014 or earlier, and some 5 650 new flats will be completed in phases between 2018 and 2023, representing a net gain of about 2 150 flats.
At present, the HA does not have any rolling programme for large scale redevelopment of aged estates, but will consider the redevelopment potential and feasibility of estates in future in accordance with the above-mentioned policy.
(e) Regarding land supply, we will actively explore all feasible ways to increase the land for PRH development. We have been liaising closely with the concerned bureaux, government departments, district councils and local communities to identify suitable sites for PRH development in different parts of the territory. We will optimise the development potentials of public housing sites and build on the principles of cost effectiveness and sustainability. At the same time, we will strive to achieve relaxation in plot ratios and height restrictions where appropriate without compromising the living environment. As mentioned above, we will examine the build-back potential of aged estates so as to increase the supply of PRH.
Besides, the Chief Executive announced on August 30, 2012 ten short to medium term measures on housing and land supply. These include the conversion of the HA's Chai Wan Factory Estate into PRH, the allocation of a piece of land in Kai Tak and an "Open Space" site without development programme in Cheung Sha Wan for Home Ownership Scheme (HOS) and PRH developments respectively, in order to expedite housing supply.
(f) The residential sites in the Land Sale Programme are for the supply of private housing development, and the Government has to maintain adequate land supply. Nevertheless, for the past three years, four residential sites were taken out from the Government's Land Sale Programme and eventually allocated for PRH or HOS development. Details are as follows:
Project Type of Developable Anticipated
Development GFA (sqm)(about) Flat Number
(about)
Lin Shing PRH 13 150 300
Road, Chai Wan
Government HOS 7 200 100
Land adjacent
to Ngan Wan
Estate, Mui Wo
Wang Yip HOS 14 500 200
Street West,
Yuen Long
Sha Tsui Road, HOS 48 100 900
Tsuen Wan
The Government will continue to review from time to time the appropriate use of the sites in Land Sale Programme for better utilisation of land resources.
(g) & (i) The information submitted to the Legislative Council in April 2011 involved twelve PRH projects. Of these, the HA has handled the objection from District Councils on eight projects and resolved the relevant problems. The HA is actively following up the comments of District Councils on the remaining four projects.
According to the Public Housing Construction Programme as at September 2012, the total new PRH flat production forecast for the five-year period from 2012/13 to 2016/17 is about 75 000 i.e. averaging about 15 000 flats per year. It is about the same as 2011's forecast. The PRH flat production forecast in the coming five years and the PRH and HOS projects to be commenced in the coming three years are at Annex 2 and Annex 3 respectively.
(h) DEVB advises that, according to the preliminary proposal of the "Planning Study on Future Land Use at Anderson Road Quarry", the Anderson Road Quarry site could provide about 1 700 subsidised housing units (considered suitable for HOS development). The "Development at Anderson Road" at the south-west of the quarry site, which is now under construction, will provide about 18 000 PRH units. According to the "Recommended Outline Development Plans" announced under the "North East New Territories New Development Areas (NDAs) Planning and Engineering Study", the NDAs could provide about 23 100 PRH units. Having regard to the views received from the community and those reflected by the HA, however, the Government is now considering adjusting the planning of the NDAs, including increasing the proportion of public housing and allocating residential land for HOS development. The proposal has yet to be finalised.
Ends/Wednesday, November 14, 2012
Issued at HKT 14:40
NNNN
