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LCQ21: Retail Facilities in Yan On Estate
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     Following is a question by the Hon Leung Kwok-hung and a written reply by the Acting Secretary for Transport and Housing, Mr Yau Shing-mu, in the Legislative Council today (December 3):

Question:

     Quite a number of residents of Yan On Estate in Ma On Shan have relayed to me that at present, there are only a restaurant, a convenience store and a mini-supermarket in the estate, and the retail services are severely insufficient to meet the needs of the residents. They have also pointed out that educational and elderly services are lacking in the estate. It is learnt that the Hong Kong Housing Authority (HA) is now inviting tenders for the tenancy of a shop in Yan Hei House of Yan On Estate, with the designated trades being "Education and Cultural Centre" or "Medicine, Cosmetics and Dried Sea Food". In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) of the respective population of those aged 18 or below and those aged 60 or above in the aforesaid estate;

(2) whether HA has assessed the needs of the residents before conducting the tender exercise for the tenancy of the aforesaid shop; if it has, of the methodology, date and outcome of the assessment; if not, the reasons for that;

(3) of the number of tender submissions for the tenancy of the aforesaid shop received by HA, with a breakdown by the trade intended to be operated by the tenderers (set out in the table below); the trade to be operated by the successful bidder and the monthly rent required to be paid;

Trade to be operated              Number of tender
                                  submissions
--------------------              ----------------
Education and Cultural Centre
Medicine, Cosmetics and Dried
Sea Food

(4) of the number of other shops in Yan On Estate that will be let by HA, their leasing schedules and the permitted trades;

(5) whether HA will consider setting up youth or elderly centres in the vacant shops in Yan On Estate to provide service for the residents there; if it will, of the details;

(6) whether HA knows if the existing shops in Yan On Estate carry medicine, cosmetics and dried sea food; if they do, whether HA has assessed if the grant of the tenancy of the aforesaid shop to a business operator of such trades will give rise to vicious competition; and

(7) whether Yan On Estate Phase 2 of the public housing development will be completed in 2014 as scheduled, and of the number of units that will be provided under the project; whether HA has assessed the impact of residents moving in such units on the demand for retail services?

Reply:

President,

     Yan On Estate is a public rental housing (PRH) estate under the Hong Kong Housing Authority (HA). Yan On Estate consists of three domestic blocks (Yan Chung House, Yan Hei House and Yan Yuet House) providing 2 587 PRH flats with intake in 2011.  My reply to various parts of the question raised by Hon Leung Kwok-hung is as follows:

(1) At present, there are around 6 200 residents in Yan On Estate.  Among them, about 1 500 residents are under the age of 18 (about 24 per cent of total residents in the estate); 3 800 are between the age of 18 to 59 (about 61 per cent); and 900 are over 60 (about 15 per cent).

(2) The HA provides retail facilities in new PRH estates mainly to facilitate local residents to shop for basic daily necessities. The scale and the type of retail facilities to be provided are primarily determined with reference to the population of the estate and the provision of retail facilities in the vicinity.

     Yan On Estate is a comparatively small PRH estate with about 440 square metres of retail space available for leasing. Retail facilities, including a convenience store, an eatery shop, a food provision and grocery store and automated teller machine (ATM) facilities had been serving the residents since the initial intake stage. The HA has been maintaining close liaison with shop tenants and residents with a view to providing a better business environment and more shopping choices for residents. Having consulted the District Council Members and residents, the HA decided to convert the empty bay at Yan Hei House into a retail shop (i.e. shop No.1 at Yan Hei House) for the trade of "Medicine, Cosmetics and Dried Sea Food (With Chinese Medicine Practitioner Services)" or "Education and Cultural Centre" to provide additional retail facilities for the residents.  

(3) An open rental tender exercise for that retail shop was arranged from November 7 to 28, 2014. A total of 19 tenders were received, with 15 bidding for "Education and Cultural Centre" and 4 bidding for "Medicine, Cosmetics and Dried Sea Food (With Chinese Medicine Practitioner Services)". As the tenders are subject to vetting, we are unable to provide information of the successful tender at this stage. Upon the completion of vetting, the tender result will be published in Government Gazette and uploaded to the tender awards section in the website of the HA and Housing Department.

(4) Apart from the open rental tender for shop No.1 at Yan Hei House, there is no vacant premise in Yan On Estate available for leasing.

(5) At present, there is no venue in Yan On Estate suitable for the use of community services. A community centre, a youth centre and an elderly centre in Heng On Estate nearby are providing services to residents in the district, including those of Yan On Estate.

(6) At present, there are a convenience store, an eatery Shop, a food provision and grocery store and ATM facilities in Yan On Estate.  The HA attempts to expand the trade to "Medicine, Cosmetics and Dried Sea Food (With Chinese Medicine Practitioner Services)" or "Education and Cultural Centre" to provide more shopping choices for the residents.

(7) The extension proposal of Yan On Estate covers around 1 600 new flats and additional retail facilities.  The HA has presented the proposal to the Development and Housing Committee of the Sha Tin District Council on September 5 and October 30, 2013 and obtained their support. In order to address the demand in the community, we have taken into account the increased population and the availability of relevant facilities in the vicinity in planning the provision of retail facilities in the extension.  Tentatively, works of Phase 1 is planned to commence in 2016 and complete in 2020, while that of Phase 2 is planned to commence in 2019 and complete in 2024.

Ends/Wednesday, December 3, 2014
Issued at HKT 12:50

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