The great Wing Lee Street contradiction

The Urban Renewal Authority made a sudden U-turn this week, deciding to spare Wing Lee Street from the wrecking ball. Then, within a day, the Legislative Council passed a bill to make it easier for developers to attain old buildings for redevelopment by lowering the compulsory sale threshold by 10 percentage points.

Developers will need to secure 80 per cent ownership of a building in order to force its compulsory sale, once the new law takes effect on April 1.

Both cases involve the acquisition of run-down tenements for urban renewal. But there seems to be a lack of policy consistency and the government has, to a great extent, contradicted some of its policy principles. Some officials have clearly not been objective in making decisions.

The decision to preserve the 12 pre-war tenements on Wing Lee Street in Sheung Wan came after a long consultation process.

It went through all the necessary channels, similar to those for the redevelopment of Lee Tung Street, also known as Wedding Card Street, in Wan Chai years ago. That project drew vociferous opposition but the URA refused to budge an inch.

Even after owners of two tenements on Wing Lee Street renovated their blocks last year in the hope that they would be spared from redevelopment, the government still insisted on going ahead.