The stone gatehouse of the historic Old British Military Hospital, a neglected structure on a heritage site in Mid-Levels, is to be cleaned and emptied of rubbish.
A Food and Environmental Hygiene Department spokeswoman said it had told its cleaning contractor to tidy the place and avoid causing damage, and said it could no longer use the building.
The department's response came after the South China Morning Post reported on Monday that elements of the 103-year-old hospital building, a grade-one historic site, had fallen into a dilapidated state.
The stone gatehouse was full of rubbish and showed signs of internal water leaks. And the upper part of a stone pillar at the entrance, at the junction of Borrett and Bowen roads, had disappeared.
The issue also drew the attention of Central and Western district councillor Tanya Chan, who visited the site yesterday.
'I am going to bring the issue to the council meeting agenda next month. We have to monitor government departments in using and maintaining the site.
'It is so disrespectful of the FEHD to use the historic block to store rubbish,' Chan said. She will write to relevant departments to express her concern.