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LCQ5: Recreation and leisure facilities
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     Following is a question by Dr the Hon Elizabeth Quat and a written reply by the Secretary for Home Affairs, Mr Lau Kong-wah, in the Legislative Council today (May 4):

Question:

     Currently, quite a number of leisure and cultural services projects across the territory which were endorsed respectively by the two former Municipal Councils or relevant District Councils many years ago have not yet commenced. Those projects include: a sports centre in Area 103, On Luk Street, Ma On Shan, adjacent to the Ma On Shan Police Station; District Open Space in Area 90, next to the junction of Hang Ming Street and Hang Fai Street, Ma On Shan; and the sports centre and Town Plaza in Area 4, Sai Kung. It has been reported that quite a number of members of the public consider that the cultural and recreational facilities as well as the activity space in the community are inadequate, and the planning work of the Government is not thorough either. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) whether it will consider, when seeking funding approvals from the Finance Committee of this Council, placing the funding applications of the aforesaid projects in a separate queue from that of territory-wide projects, with a view to shortening the waiting time for vetting and approval of the former;

(2) of the existing number of the aforesaid projects that are still pending funding approvals; when the authorities expect to submit to this Council the funding applications for such projects (set out in detail in a table); and

(3) given that the Government will provide open space and recreational facilities in various districts in accordance with the planning standards of the Hong Kong Planning Standards and Guidelines, the projects for such facilities in quite a number of districts (e.g. Shatin and Tseung Kwan O) have not commenced after a long time due to the lack of land or funding pending approval, of the districts in which the relevant planning standards have been met and those have not at present; given that the public's demands for such facilities are keener than those in the past, whether the Government will review the relevant standards afresh; if it will, of the details and the timetable; if not, the reasons for that?

Reply:

President,

     My reply to the three parts of the question is as follows:

(1) In drawing up agenda items and their sequence for each Finance Committee (FC) meeting, the Government will consider holistically such factors as priorities for funding proposals, whether consultation has been completed and the FC's progress of scrutinising such proposals.  As always, the Government will work closely with all members of the Public Works Subcommittee and the FC for timely completion of the scrutiny work.

(2) The Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) reports annually to the Panel on Home Affairs of the Legislative Council (LegCo) on the update of the 139 outstanding leisure and cultural services projects of the two former Municipal Councils.  The latest report was submitted in November 2015.  As at end-March 2016, 63 of the 139 projects had been completed, seven were under construction or had secured funding from the LegCo, two were submitted to the LegCo for scrutiny and pending funding approval by the FC, and 17 were deferred or deleted following consultation with the relevant District Councils (DCs); for the remaining 50 projects, nine had been partially developed, eight were at the advanced planning stage, three were under preliminary planning, nine were under review, and 21 were without available sites or had been accorded low priority by the respective DCs.  Details of these projects are at Annex 1.  In addition, 13 DC-led projects, which are related to district livelihood, cultural and recreational development, are pending funding under the Signature Project Scheme.  Their status of funding approval is at Annex 2.

     District-based projects will continue to be taken forward according to the established procedures of the Capital Works Programme.  The delivery time depends on a host of factors, including urgency, scope and complexity of individual projects, views of the stakeholders (including the relevant DCs) and resources available.  Upon approval of funding, we will commence the funded projects as soon as possible for completion as scheduled, thus enabling early enjoyment of the relevant facilities by the public.

(3) Regarding recreational facilities, Chapter 4 of the Hong Kong Planning Standards and Guidelines (HKPSG) on "Recreation, Open Space and Greening" stipulates the standards of provision for core activities and recreation buildings.  Many different organisations and bodies are involved in the organisation and provision of a wide range of recreation facilities.  Recreation facilities provided by the public sector are mainly those provided by the LCSD for public enjoyment and those provided by the Hong Kong Housing Authority within public housing developments for residents' use.  The area and number of open spaces and recreation facilities under the LCSD are listed by district at Annex 3.

     In the planning of recreation and leisure facilities, the Government will continue to make reference to the guidelines of the HKPSG and take into account the policy objectives for sports development, utilisation rates of existing facilities, public preferences for different types of sports as indicated by studies and surveys, views of DCs and relevant sports organisations, and the extent of provision of such facilities by governmental and non-governmental organisations, with a view to meeting the public demand.

     Given that the last comprehensive review on the relevant chapter(s) in the HKPSG was conducted in 1998, the Home Affairs Bureau set up the Working Group on Sports Facilities (WG) under the Sports Commission last year to review the level of demand for various types of sports facilities and to consider whether and how the current HKPSG should be revised to better meet such demand.  Taking into account views of the WG, we plan to engage a consultant to carry out a study on the demand and supply of sports facilities in Hong Kong and to make recommendations on future provision of sports facilities to serve Government's policy objectives on sports development.  The WG hopes to complete its review and come up with preliminary recommendations by 2017.

Ends/Wednesday, May 4, 2016
Issued at HKT 15:10

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