The government is reviewing the policy of placing open space under private management, Secretary for Development Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said yesterday.
The review follows a soaring number of complaints on the so-called 'privatisation' of open spaces, particularly the Times Square piazza in Causeway Bay, where it was found the owner, Wharf (Holdings), had charged commercial rates on exhibitions and restricted public activities.
Mrs Lam said the government was also investigating whether relevant departments should have more input on the planning of public space owned or managed by private companies. Speaking on a radio programme, Mrs Lam said she was 'standing by the public's side' in recent controversies over the provision of public open space.
It was also discovered that it is exceedingly difficult for the public to gain access to open spaces in some residential developments. 'The government is reviewing whether the existing policy is right or wrong and if there is room for improvement,' she said. 'But the existing arrangement has its practical value. Hong Kong has only limited land and, if we need to create public space in certain areas, it may have to look to private land.'
She also said the prevailing planning arrangement to provide promenades on the waterfront might make it difficult for the government to own and manage all public open space, as some waterfront land was private.
Mrs Lam said the role of district councils would be strengthened in monitoring the provision of public open space, and information on all public space and facilities that were under private management in buildings completed before 1997 would soon be available online.
Secretary for Justice Wong Yan-lung said in a Legislative Council justice panel meeting that the government was 'actively studying' the situation at Times Square.