Should building codes be relaxed for heritage sites?
Experts commissioned to review building codes in the city have said historic buildings should be spared modern planning requirements, such as installing lifts for the disabled ('Flexibility urged over historic buildings', May 26).
Architects argue it is inflexible and unnecessary to apply the most stringent regulations to such buildings, saying the sites would lose their charm if they had to comply with the strictest of rules.
While the opinions of the architects and these other experts must be considered, we must also listen to what the city's residents think about this. Hongkongers like things familiar.
We believe in tradition and it is for that reason that we want old buildings to be preserved and to retain their character. It is traditional for Chinese to think of where they came from and miss it if it has gone. These buildings are living memories and they remind us of how much the city has developed.
The experts who say such buildings must stick to rigid modern regulations are wrong. If, for example, a lift has to be installed, it might change the appearance of a historic building and it might lose its unique character. If that happens, they might as well put up a new structure. It may be, in some cases, that facilities cannot be put in for the disabled, but with some old structures that may be necessary.