Collapse triggers calls for change

The dramatic collapse of a building in To Kwa Wan on Friday has triggered calls for urban renewal projects to be speeded up and reprioritised by revamping the system as soon as possible.

One suggestion is for the Urban Renewal Authority to be allowed to take on more rehabilitation and redevelopment projects that make little profit and for it to speed up private redevelopments that are deadlocked.

Dr Law Chi-kwong, who studies renewal issues at the University of Hong Kong, said the collapse sent a warning to deadlocked projects like the Staunton Street redevelopment in Central where the same type of tenement buildings is found.

The Staunton Street redevelopment has dragged on for at least eight years due to opposition from a developer and tenement owners. The redevelopment boundary has been reduced after slicing off part of it to Henderson Land, which already owned significant property interests in the area in 2003.

The project's density was further reduced in 2008 to address neighbours' concerns about high-rises blocking their view and air flow. But the opposition continued as some owners wanted to preserve their refurbished tenements rather than see them torn down.

Although the proposal was not accepted by the Town Planning Board, the authority decided to revise its master plan last week to further reduce one of the high-rises from 28 storeys to 20 floors to make the redevelopment more community-friendly. Little progress has been made on agreement, given the obstacles.

This is just one of the renewal projects that have been deadlocked in recent years.