Leader of divisive urban projects to quit
The Urban Renewal Authority's managing director is poised to announce as early as today that he is standing down, sources close to the authority said.
Billy Lam Chung-lun, who has served the authority since 2002, believed that it was appropriate for him to quit at the age of 59, the sources said. His contract is due to expire in December and he will not be seeking reappointment.
Heading the authority since it was formed, Mr Lam spearheaded controversial projects such as the redevelopment of Wan Chai's Lee Tung Street, known as Wedding Card Street, Fa Yuen Street (Sneaker Street) in Mong Kok and Peel and Graham streets in Central.
During his tenure, residents and shop owners have staged repeated protests over the authority's decisions. Some have taken their cases to the Town Planning Board and the Ombudsman in an attempt to overturn the projects.
Before joining the authority, Mr Lam was chief executive of the Airport Authority from 1998 to 2000. He could not be reached for comment.
Christina Lau Wai-man of the K28 concern group, which represents about 40 per cent of the shop owners affected by the redevelopment project in Sneaker Street, said: 'I do not have strong feelings about his resignation. It is the authority's model of redevelopment that we are against, instead of Mr Lam himself.'
Ms Lau, who is lobbying the authority to accept her group's proposal to retain ground-floor shops while demolishing flats on the upper floors, said she hoped Mr Lam's successor would pay more attention to the opinions of all affected parties. 'Councillors can reflect some people's opinions, but not all,' she said.
Kam Fok Lai-ching, of the H15 Concern Group, which represents former shop owners and residents in Lee Tung Street, hoped Mr Lam's successor would strive to 'solidly' implement the objectives set down by the Urban Renewal Strategy.
'As a leader, the new managing director should make sure that objectives, such as preserving the social network of a community, are firmly realised in their redevelopment schemes,' she said.
