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District councillors say a government scheme under which they would monitor the use of public spaces in private developments will not work because the councillors lack guidelines about how the different spaces should be used.
But the Development Bureau  said the councillors were expected to only report cases in which  they knew public access was blocked. A lawmaker said the councillors were best suited  to  the job because of their local knowledge.
The scheme was put forward amid public outcry after it was found that some developers were blocking public access to what were supposed to be public spaces and others were renting  them out for profit.
The South China Morning Post  asked all 18 district councils  what they had done  in response to the government's call. Of those that replied, eight said  there were no cases to act on  in their district, and three said they wanted to act but had no  guidelines.
Kowloon City district councillor Lee Wai-king  said the  district council role in monitoring  how  space was used was 'restricted and confusing'.
'Without guidelines, I have no idea what I can do,' Ms Lee said. 'It  is ambiguous. The government should try its best to be transparent.'
She called on the bureau to set out  general guidelines with general terms to follow.
Yau Tsim Mong district councillor Hung Chiu-wah  agreed the government must first spell out the councils' roles. 'It is difficult for us to monitor the areas when we do not know what to report to the government, and to which department we should address the complaint.'
At present, the lands and buildings departments are responsible for checking how land is used and receiving  complaints.
The chairman of the Professional Commons  think-tank, Albert Lai Kwong-tak,  said district councils should not have to shoulder the task of monitoring the accessibility of public open space.  'It is the job of the government,' he said, adding that only the government and property owners would know the details of leases.
However, lawmaker Patrick Lau Sau-shing  said the district councils' familiarity with local conditions made them perfect for the job.
A Development Bureau spokeswoman said the office had written to the  councils to seek their support for monitoring use of  public facilities.



Districts lack guidance to check use of public space, councillors say