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The Lands Department and Buildings Department have updated and released today (December 30) the lists of private developments which are required under land leases or deeds of dedication to provide and manage various public facilities, such as open spaces, pedestrian passages and walkways, footbridges and car parks.
The list released by the Lands Department now contains 450 developments completed since 1987, an addition of 150 developments to the list released in August this year in respect of developments completed since 1992. With the addition of one new development, the Buildings Department's list now contains 320 developments.
In line with the previous practice, a separate list of open spaces in these private developments available for public use is also provided for reference. The update has identified seven additional private developments with open space available for public use in North Point, Central, Admiralty, Wan Chai, Sham Shui Po, Yau Ma Tei and Tsuen Wan. A location plan and photos in respect of each of these seven open spaces are made available for public reference.
The above lists are uploaded onto the websites of the Development Bureau (www.devb-plb.gov.hk), Lands Department (www.landsd.gov.hk) and Buildings Department (www.bd.gov.hk).
A spokesman for the Development Bureau said that the release of the information was intended to enhance transparency and public accessibility to those public facilities. The Lands Department and Buildings Department have written to all relevant owners, owners' corporations or management companies of those private developments to remind them of their obligations under land leases or deeds of dedication in respect of these public facilities.
Since the release of first batch of public facilities in March this year, follow-up action in response to complaints has been promptly taken by the Lands Department and Buildings Department, and generally compliance by owners has been observed. The two departments will also continue to conduct spot checks on these facilities to ensure compliance with the requirements.
The Lands Department will continue to retrieve information on private developments completed between 1980 and 1986, which is likely to be the last batch to conclude this exercise, with an aim to release the updated lists in the first half of 2009. Thereafter, the Lands Department and the Buildings Department will update their lists as and when necessary.
People may contact the relevant District Lands Office or the Buildings Department through the telephone numbers provided in the lists should they wish to obtain more information about the public facilities, or to report any non-compliance with the specified uses.
Ends/Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Issued at HKT 11:01
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