Bid to resolve conflict over open space
Owners may get right to buy public areas near their homes
Flat owners paying millions of dollars a year to manage areas that are supposed to be public open space may get the right to buy the space from the government.
Development chief Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said yesterday this was an option being considered to resolve conflict over space such as podium gardens that were provided by developers to gain concessions from the government but are barely accessible to the public and have been left for the flat owners to maintain.
Her remarks came as she released a second list of areas in a review of such space that followed accusations that operators of Times Square in Causeway Bay had restricted access to a public piazza and had rented out parts of it.
The list of public spaces formed after 1992 includes 433 private developments regulated by land lease or deeds of dedication agreed by the Buildings Department.
Only five areas of public open space - to all of which public access was restricted - were identified: in Kennedy Town, Wan Chai, Kowloon Tong, Tai Po and Tuen Mun. The other areas for which developers obtained concessions included pedestrian crossings, bus stops and road widening works within the estates.
The first list, released in March, covered spaces formed after 1997.
Visits to the five open areas found the public's right to enjoy the space compromised.
In Tai Po, staff representing the Soka Gakkai International of Hong Kong Cultural and Recreational Centre said priority for using the facilities was given to members, who were required to attend a Buddhism course.
In Kowloon Tong, open space at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints temple in Cornwall Street is mostly used for church gatherings. Few others are aware of its existence.
While recognising the merits of public-private partnership in providing public open space, Mrs Lam said the bureau was drafting guidelines for developers and residents to properly manage open space.
Options to minimise conflicts between residents and the public were also being considered, she said.
One option would be to allow owners to buy the public open space. This would only be feasible if use of the public space created a disturbance to residents, and the buyout must be endorsed by the district councils, Mrs Lam said.
'In some special cases, where other open space is available in the neighbourhood, it is unnecessary to intensify conflicts in the community,' she said. Government-owned public open spaces may be put under Leisure and Cultural Services Department management.
The buyout option has been welcomed by some flat owners.
Jason Poon Chuk-hung, a spokesman for residents of Metro Harbourview in Tai Kok Tsui, said owners paid HK$2 million a year to maintain public space - mostly garden - on the fourth floor of the development. He said most owners knew nothing of this when they bought flats as it was not made clear in sales brochures.
'People in the street have to walk up hundreds of steps to get up there,' he said. 'A lot of cigarette ends are left on the ground.'
The owners want to privatise the space for a 'nominal fee'.
Town Planning Board vice-chairman Greg Wong Chak-yan said a reasonable premium should be paid to prevent loss of public funds. 'The money should be used to create another quality open space in the neighbourhood.'
