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Following is a question by the Hon Frederick Fung and a written reply by the Acting Secretary for Transport and Housing, Mr Yau Shing-mu, in the Legislative Council today (May 27):
Question:
The Chief Executive raised in the 2013 Policy Address: "Do we have the courage to make it our vision to improve the living space for the future generation?" Recently, some public rental housing ("PRH") tenants affected by the redevelopment programmes of Shek Kip Mei Estate and Pak Tin Estate have relayed to me that they have found that a new design has been adopted for the redeveloped PRH flats allocated to them, rendering their living space smaller than that in the past. They feel very disappointed that their living space will be reduced rather than increased. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it has drawn up short, medium and long term plans for achieving the aforesaid vision; if it has not, of the reasons for that; if it has, the details of the plans; of the specific work it has carried out so far, and whether such work includes increasing the space standards of PRH flats; if so, of the specific work to be carried out;
(2) of the changes in the space of PRH flats completed in the past decade, broken down by the designed number of occupants per flat; the reasons for reducing the space standards of the new type of PRH flats, and whether such reasons include an attempt to increase the production of PRH flats; if so, of the details, including the relevant percentage increase; whether it has assessed the impact of the new type of PRH flats on the living space of the tenants; and
(3) whether it has assessed if the construction of the new type of PRH flats with a smaller size is contrary to the aforesaid vision; whether it will consider reviewing afresh and revising the design of PRH flats; whether it will amend the layout plans for the redevelopment programmes of Shek Kip Mei Estate and Pak Tin Estate to increase the living space of the redeveloped flats, so that the living environment of the local residents can be improved through the redevelopment and aforesaid vision can be achieved; if it will not, of the reasons for that?
Reply:
President,
My replies to the various parts of the question by the Hon Frederick Fung are as follows.
The Hong Kong Housing Authority (HA)'s objective is to provide public rental housing (PRH) to low-income families who cannot afford private rental accommodation, and to maintain the target of providing first flat offer to general applicants (i.e. family and elderly one-person applicants) at around three years on average.
In order to better utilise the land resources and provide PRH to the applicants, HA will consider all suitable sites, regardless the size, and will develop PRH in the most cost-effective and sustainable manner in order to meet public demand, based on the principle of maximising site development potential. In the past decades, HA had adopted a standard-block design approach in public housing developments. Starting from 2000, due to limited availability of land resources, the topography, size and configuration of the public housing sites have become more complicated. As a result, HA has switched to a site-specific design approach.
At present, the design principle of "Functional and Cost Effective" has been adopted for every PRH project, with the incorporation of "Standard Modular Flat Design". The purpose is to maximise site development potential, while achieving cost-effectiveness through PRH building design. There are currently four types of modular flats, including 1-or-2-person flat with an internal floor area of 14.1 square metres to 14.5 square metres, 2-or-3-person flat with an internal floor area of 21.4 square metres to 22.0 square metres, 3-to-4-person flat with an internal floor area of 30.2 square metres to 31.0 square metres and 4-to-5-person flat with an internal floor area of 35.0 square metres to 36.1 square metres.
Taking into account feedbacks from tenants and concern groups on flat size and layout, the current modular flat design has struck a balance for all design aspects. Compared with previous designs, it provides internal living space of better utility; the ratio between kitchen and bathroom against living and sleeping areas is more rational and can cater for various family combinations. Besides, it is more flexible for partitioning and placing of furniture. Other design enhancements include cross-ventilating windows to enhance natural ventilation, enhanced universal design for tenants of all ages and different physical conditions, and improved design of plumbing, drainage and electricity supply systems. These improvements create a healthy living environment for tenants. Such design enhances the flexibility and quality of living space and has been generally supported by PRH tenants. In view of the above, it would not be appropriate to solely focus on flat size in the comparison between previous and present PRH developments and their comprehensive planning and design.
With the view to continuously improving the design of modular flats, HA will continue to take on board the views of industry stakeholders and tenants' concern groups about flat size and layout. Whilst meeting the production target, HA will also put emphasis on harmonising the public housing developments and the environment, with due regards to social, economic and environmental needs as well as planning and related legal requirements.
Regarding the redevelopment works of Pak Tin Estate and Shek Kip Mei Estate, it is not possible to amend the redevelopment plan at this stage as the construction works have already commenced. When HA is making rehousing arrangements for affected tenants, it would refer to the number of members in the tenant family and follow the established allocation standard to allocate appropriate flats to them. The prevailing PRH allocation standard is about 7 square metres internal floor area per person. The same standard also applies to PRH tenants affected by redevelopment.
HA will keep the affected tenants updated of the progress of the redevelopment and will provide them with relevant information to ensure that they are apprised of the relevant matters.
Ends/Wednesday, May 27, 2015
Issued at HKT 12:01
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