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Following is a question by the Hon Frederick Fung and a reply by the Secretary for Transport and Housing, Ms Eva Cheng, in the Legislative Council today (May 16):
Question:
The Chief Executive stated in his 2011-2012 Policy Address that the Government needed to explore ways to appropriately increase the densities and plot ratios of public housing estate (PHE) projects without compromising the living environment in order to increase the supply of public housing. The Housing Department indicated in the middle of last month that having considered the build-back potential of the aged portion of Pak Tin Estate in Sham Shui Po, the Hong Kong Housing Authority had approved the redevelopment of eight residential blocks and a commercial centre which were the older portion of Pak Tin Estate. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the criteria adopted by the authorities at present for deciding to initiate the redevelopment of old PHEs; whether such criteria include factors such as the structural conditions of the buildings, the wishes of the residents in the districts, plot ratios which have not been fully utilised and those which can be increased as well as the maintenance costs required; and the weightings assigned to various factors; regarding the newly-developed sites for future public housing, of the criteria adopted and the procedures which need to be followed by the authorities for increasing the densities and plot ratios of public housing;
(b) whether the wishes of the residents of the district have been taken into account in initiating the redevelopment of Pak Tin Estate; if so, of the process for consulting the residents and gauging their views as well as the recommendations finally adopted; whether the quality of the living environment and densities of the estates upon redevelopment have been considered; the existing and permitted maximum plot ratios of such lots; whether the redevelopment only involves land where the plot ratios have not been fully utilised; if so, why it does not consider further increasing the plot ratios of such lots to provide more public housing flats; and
(c) of a list of the various existing old PHEs with potential redevelopment values, together with the age of such estates, the existing plot ratios and the plot ratios which may be fully utilised, and set out the information in table form; which old PHEs the authorities are planning or will consider to redevelop and whether they will consult the residents in the districts as soon as possible; whether they have assessed how the redevelopment of old PHEs will facilitate the increase in the supply of public housing in future?
Reply :
President,
The Government aims to provide public rental housing (PRH) for low-income families who cannot afford private rental accommodation through the Hong Kong Housing Authority (HA). The target is to maintain the average waiting time for General Waiting List applicants at around three years. According to the current five-year rolling Public Housing Construction Programme of the HA, the anticipated new PRH production during the five-year period starting from 2011/12 is about 75 000 flats, averaging about 15 000 flats per year. To provide a steady and adequate supply of land for PRH so as to meet our flat production target, the Government stated in the 2011/12 Policy Address that it will open up new sites and explore ways to appropriately increase the densities and plot ratios of PRH projects without compromising the living environment in order to achieve the PRH production target.
In 2011, the HA had approved the "Refined Policy on Redevelopment of Aged Public Rental Housing Estates" which states that apart from applying the two-pillar criteria of structural safety and economic repair when considering the clearance and redevelopment of aged PRH estates under the Comprehensive Structural Investigation Programme (CSIP), HA will in future also examine the build-back potential of aged PRH estates bearing in mind the availability of suitable rehousing resources, so as to strike a balance between sustainability of existing buildings and the redevelopment potential of older estates.
My reply to the three-part question raised by the Hon Fung is as follows.
(a) As I have just mentioned, in order to be in line with the refined policy on redevelopment, the HA would apply the criteria of structural safety and economic repair for consideration of redevelopment of aged estates under the result of CSIP, examine the build-back potential of aged PRH estates and the availability of suitable rehousing resources so as to strike a balance between the sustainability of existing buildings and the redevelopment potential of older estates.
Under the current CSIP, the HA will examine and assess the structural safety of its aged estates including the gathering of test samples from existing buildings to assess the concrete strength and the anticipated ageing of steel reinforcement for the coming 15 years in order to ascertain the extent of maintenance and repair works required and the associated repair costs.
For Pak Tin Estate, we have conducted a basket of detailed studies which include various technical and environmental impact assessments, master planning for the district, urban design and the development intensity, etc. We have also discussed with relevant bureaux and government departments in relation to the community, welfare, transport and educational facilities in the districts.
On the consideration of the build-back potential of the aged PRH estates and the availability of suitable rehousing resources, the older portion of Pak Tin Estate consists of 3 500 PRH units in eight residential buildings. Upon completion of the redevelopment, it would provide some 5 650 units, representing a substantial gain of about 2 150 units when compared to the number of flats before redevelopment. The newly completed PRH flats available in the nearby Shek Kip Mei Estate Phases 2 and 5 will serve as the primary rehousing resources for the first batch of affected tenants of Pak Tin Estate. The existing vacant primary school will also be demolished and included in the redevelopment. Having considered the above, the HA's Strategic Planning Committee approved in January 2012 the preliminary master plan for the phased clearance and redevelopment of Pak Tin Estate.
In the planning for the new PRH sites, the HA will comply with the relevant prevailing statutory regulations, and conduct various technical studies such as environmental, traffic, air ventilation and visual assessments. The HA will also liaise with concerned bureaux and government departments with an aim to optimising the development potential of each site without compromising the environmental quality. Consideration will also be given to ensure the maximum flat production through relaxing plot ratios and building heights, etc. For example, as a result of liaison between the Housing Department (HD) and the Planning Department, we have successfully relaxed the plot ratio and building height restriction as well as to increase the site area for the PRH developments in Fo Tan and Hung Shui Kiu, thus enabling a total additional production of 4 200 flats. For future PRH developments, the HA will continue to adopt the principle of optimised utilisation of land resources so as to build cost-effective and sustainable public housing developments.
(b) Apart from taking into account the aforementioned four criteria namely structural safety, economic repair, build-back potential and availability of suitable rehousing resources, the HA has also taken into account the local needs when considering the clearance and redevelopment of Pak Tin Estate.
We have always kept abreast of local aspirations and maintained dialogues with local District Councillors and residents through the concerned District Council (DC) and various channels so as to listen to their views. We understand that they are in general supportive to our proposal to redevelop the older portion of Pak Tin Estate. In fact, HD has held several meetings with the affected residents, resident representatives, commercial tenants and welfare organisations on the preliminary master plan for the phased clearance and redevelopment of Pak Tin Estate, and has listened to their views and responded to their enquiries. Moreover, we briefed the Panel of Housing of Legislative Council on the Pak Tin Estate redevelopment proposal in early May 2012, and will brief the Housing Affairs Committee of Sham Shui Po DC to seek Councillors' views on this proposal. Throughout the process of the redevelopment, we will actively liaise with the concerned DC, concern groups and residents of Pak Tin Estate, and will follow up on their views.
In addition, the HA is working closely with other bureaux and government departments on the relocation, re-provisioning and funding arrangements of the community, social welfare, transport and educational facilities for the redevelopment of Pak Tin Estate. The HA will engage the community when drawing up the master plan for redevelopment.
At present, the plot ratio of the older portion of Pak Tin Estate site is about 4. By relaxing the concerned plot ratio to 6, there will be a total build-back of about 5 650 PRH flats, representing a net gain of about 2 150 PRH flats when compared with the number of flats before redevelopment.
(c) As I have just mentioned, according to the "Refined Policy on Redevelopment of Aged Public Rental Housing Estates", in order to increase PRH production through optimising the valuable land resources, one of the considerations for redevelopment of the aged PRH estates is the build-back potential of the estate upon redevelopment.
The Pak Tin Estate redevelopment proposal is the first redevelopment proposal under the "Refined Policy on Redevelopment of Aged Public Rental Housing Estates". In order to be in line with the refined redevelopment policy, the HA would, in addition to continuing to apply the two-pillar criteria of structural safety and economic repair based on the result of the CSIP for consideration of redevelopment of aged estates in future, examine the case for redevelopment having taken into account the redevelopment need and build-back potentials of individual aged public housing estates. At present, we are conducting a basket of detailed studies for some individual estates, which include various technical and environmental impact assessments, local master planning, urban design and the development intensity, etc. We are also discussing with relevant bureaux and government departments in relation to the community, welfare, transport and educational facilities in the districts. Should consensus be reached, we will establish the feasibility of redeveloping individual estates as and when appropriate.
Ends/Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Issued at HKT 14:05
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