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Following is a question by the Hon Christopher Chung and a reply by the Secretary for Transport and Housing, Professor Anthony Cheung Bing-leung, in the Legislative Council today (November 21):
Question:
On August 30 this year, the Chief Executive put forward 10 measures to increase housing supply, including a project to convert the Chai Wan Factory Estate (CWFE) under the Hong Kong Housing Authority for public rental housing (PRH) use (conversion project). The conversion project will provide about 180 one-person flats and one-bedroom flats and, in response to the local community's aspiration for conserving this only remaining H-shape factory building in Hong Kong, will preserve the original structure and appearance of the factory building. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) whether, prior to the Chief Executive's announcement of the conversion project, the Antiquities Advisory Board had conducted any historical building assessment for CWFE or deliberated on its conservation work; if so, of the details; if not, whether studies on the conservation of CWFE will be conducted before works of the conversion project commence;
(b) given that CWFE was not originally designed for residential use, if it has assessed whether the conversion project will involve numerous structural alterations inside the building (such as adding lifts, windows, toilets and kitchens, etc.), whether the alterations will make the appearance of the factory building lose its original characteristics, and whether this will thus defeat the original intent of conserving the factory building; if it has, of the assessment outcome; and
(c) given that CWFE is located at the centre of Chai Wan near the MTR station, if it has assessed whether the conversion project is cost-effective as it will provide merely 180 PRH units, how far the conversion project will help alleviate the public housing demand, how many PRH or Home Ownership Scheme flats may be provided by redeveloping the factory building, and whether the conversion project is the best option for comprehensive conservation of CWFE; whether it has studied converting the factory building for other uses, such as art and culture, information technology or a base for young people's start-up multi-media businesses?
Reply:
President,
The Government, through the Hong Kong Housing Authority (HA), provides public rental housing (PRH) flats to low-income families who cannot afford private rental accommodation, with a target of maintaining the average waiting time (AWT) of General Waiting List (WL) applicants for PRH at about three years.
To expedite housing supply, the Chief Executive announced on August 30, 2012 ten short- to medium-term housing and land supply measures. Included among these was conversion of the HA's Chai Wan Factory Estate for PRH. This decision can increase the short-term supply of small size PRH units in the urban area to address the demand for PRH from singletons and small families. It has been taken in response to the local community's strong aspiration for the HA to preserve the last H-type factory building in Hong Kong.
My answer to the Hon Christopher Chung's three-part question is as follows:
(a) The Government is fully aware of the public's concern on the conservation of the Chai Wan Factory Estate. The Antiquities Advisory Board (AAB) is handling the grading assessment of 1 444 historic buildings which have already been announced. Chai Wan Factory Estate is not on the list of 1 444 historic buildings, but it has been included in the list of "New Items" of the AAB in response to a suggestion from the public. AAB will flexibly examine the grading of the "New Items" depending on their urgency. The Antiquities and Monuments Office (AMO) will consult the AAB on the grading of Chai Wan Factory Estate before the conversion works on the Estate commence.
The HA has commissioned a Heritage Impact Assessment study to ensure that appropriate steps may be taken to conserve the original character of Chai Wan Factory Estate after its adaptive reuse as PRH. The report will be submitted to the AMO and to the AAB before commencement of work to ensure conformance to conservation principles. We intend to provide an exhibition area to display the history of Chai Wan Factory Estate after the conversion.
(b) Preservation of heritage buildings does not necessarily mean that we have to adhere to their original use. It is a well established approach to put buildings of historic value to new uses in order to inject new life to the buildings concerned for the benefits of the community.
The HA will preserve the important building features of Chai Wan Factory Estate according to the result of the Heritage Impact Assessment, and will preserve the original structure, appearance and layout of the building as far as possible during the adaptive reuse of the project. When upgrading the building's facilities so as to match with the current regulations and codes, such as the addition of lifts and bathrooms, the conversion work will be carefully planned to ensure that the layout and appearance of the original building would be compatible with the concept of conservation.
There are many examples of adaptive re-use of historic buildings where new uses successfully blend in with the original building features. Indeed, even within the HA's stock of buildings, there are examples such as Mei Ho House, the last H-type PRH residential block, which is now being converted into a youth hostel. The H-type building type resembles Chai Wan Factory Estate and the conversion of Mei Ho House serves as a successful example for reference.
(c) There are about 200 000 applicants on the WL. To address the strong demand for PRH from the public and to maintain the AWT at about three years, the HA must make the best use of every site and maximise any scope for conversion/redevelopment. The demolition and redevelopment of Chai Wan Factory Estate would of course provide more PRH flats. Preliminary assessment suggests that about 360 flats could be provided based on a plot ratio of six. We should not consider redevelopment potential alone, however, and should take into account local aspiration for preserving an early factory estate as a historic building. Not only will the conversion of Chai Wan Factory Estate provide valuable housing supply in an expedient manner, we will be doing in accordance with local request to preserve the last H-type factory building. We believe this has struck a good balance between PRH supply and conservation.
When compared to the alternative which would involve demolition of the factory building followed by erecting a new PRH block on this site, the conversion can save both cost and time required for demolition, design, piling and other necessary works. Moreover, the conversion caters for the need to preserve the historic building. During the conversion work, the HA will make the best use of resources to achieve cost effectiveness. With environmental concerns in mind, we will try to reduce construction waste, conserve energy and reduce carbon emission in the design and use of materials with a view to minimising the alteration work needed to convert the Chai Wan Factory Estate to PRH. When compared with conversion, the demolition of the existing factory building and then re-building a new PRH block could increase flat production by just some 100 flats. Taking all factors into consideration, we consider that conversion would best serve the community's interests. Through the conversion, we can provide 180 new PRH units, including flats with internal floor area of about 17m² and 31.5m² respectively at the Chai Wan Factory Estate by end 2015. This, when compared with demolition and then rebuild, representing an advancement of two and a half years.
In response to the local community's request for cultural space, an area for the local youth to start their own business, and other community facilities, the HA is considering to reserve some space on ground floor of the converted Chai Wan Factory Estate for use by community, welfare, heritage preservation or specialty commercial activities.
Ends/Wednesday, November 21, 2012
Issued at HKT 15:43
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