Mid-Levels development in spotlight as unstable road evokes memory of tragedy Slope data from a Mid-Levels construction site near the location of a landslide in which 67 people died more than 30 years ago will be released to allay residents' concerns after cracks were found in a stretch of road above the site. Central and Western District Councillor Stephen Chan Chit-kwai said Buildings Department officials promised to release the data in a meeting with residents of Po Shan Road last week. He pledged to get the information released on the grounds of public interest even if the developer did not agree to the disclosure. Cracks about 35 metres long were discovered in October along a stretch of Po Shan Road directly above the construction site at 55 Conduit Road - a joint residential project of Chinese Estates and New World Development. Po Shan Road residents, especially those living in Po Shan Mansions, have expressed concern. Their homes are near the site of a devastating landslide in 1972 that killed 67 people. Eleven months before the tragedy, following a typhoon, cracks were noted in Po Shan Road. Mr Chan said the residents planned to ask experts to check if the latest cracks along Po Shan Road posed a safety threat and were related to site formation and foundation work started last year at 55 Conduit Road. Mr Chan said buildings officials told residents in last week's meeting that they were required to seek the consent of the developer before disclosing the data. He said he understood the developers had agreed to disclose some general slope information, but were still considering whether to release the detailed site plans. 'The Buildings Department has promised to release the relevant information on grounds of public interest even if [the developer] did not agree,' Mr Chan said. Mr Chan said architectural services officials also promised to put some indicators on the slope near Po Shan Mansions to measure if there was a subsidence problem. The cracks along Po Shan Road have forced a section of the road to be closed. The contractor has had to fill the site with rocks to stabilise it and suspend excavation and piling work. A Buildings Department spokesman said there was no imminent danger. The closed section of Po Shan Road could be reopened as early as next month if the weather allowed repair works to progress smoothly, he said. But he said the cause of the cracks was still being investigated and construction would not resume until the government was satisfied such works would not affect the safety of the site and the surrounding area. The developer had earlier said the cracks were not related to the project but might have something to do with the way Po Shan Road had been built. The cracks existed before the start of construction work, the developer said. David Eastaff, who helped inspect the aftermath of the 1972 landslide, has written to the South China Morning Post from Britain after reading the news report about the latest cracks. He said the government and developer needed to be open about the causes of the problem and the action that was being taken to ensure a fatal disaster would not happen again.
