Elderly win battle to remain
The ageing residents of the 'Old People Estate' yesterday won the battle to stay in their neighbourhood.
Facing a move to strange surroundings when their seven-storey block of flats was demolished, they argued any new housing should still be near the Tai Hang Tung Estate, Shekkipmei.
Now the Housing Department Development Committee has announced the 1,000 residents will get a new block on a nearby football pitch - despite objections by 60 per cent of their neighbours.
Shamshuipo District Board member Leung Kam-tao said he believed the needs of the elderly took priority over the temporary loss of a recreational area.
'It takes some of them an hour or two to climb the stairs, so many of them are homebound,' he said.
The new flats are subject to town planning approval.
