Neighbours protest over dai pai dong under cover
The government has breathed new life into Central's dai pai dong but the stalls have grown too big, say neighbouring shop owners in Stanley Street.
Four dai pai dong stalls - traditional eating places established in open areas under canvas - were last year given permission to remain at the end of Stanley Street.
But while the project was approved by the district council, owners of shops and buildings in the area said they were not consulted.
Some were shocked when a person running a dai pai dong planted four canvas stands, all one-storey tall, into the road. The poles could block the entry of fire engines and the big canvas would block some shops from public sight, they said.
'I noticed the four stands were erected last Saturday. They are tall and they are fixed to the ground, that's the problem,' shop owner Martin Lam said.
They stand in the way near the emergency exits of some buildings, and the tables and canvases would block fire trucks, he added.
Lam and other owners were also unhappy that a public survey on the preservation of the stalls covered other districts in Hong Kong but not their neighbourhood. Apart from the width and length of the preservation area, the group did not know details of the plan, another shop owner, who did not want to be named, said.
'If there are no government guidelines on what they can erect in the area, what if the stalls built more poles on the other side of the street?' the shop owner asked.
The owners of about six shops and commercial buildings sent a letter to the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department, the Development Bureau, the Housing Department and the Central and Western District Council, demanding that the poles be removed.
But the dai pai dong owner who erected the poles said the construction was approved by the government. 'Bottles and other stuff could fall from above. Without a canvas, it is very dangerous for people to eat here,' she said.
In case of a fire, the canvas could be removed and the poles would not be in the way. She said: 'The canvas can be retracted in three minutes.'
A man eating at the dai pai dong said he wanted a shelter above his head. 'It's safer that way. It can also block showers and sunshine,' said the man, who lives in Central.
District councillors said the government should step up its consultation on revitalisation projects.
'I am worried that conflicts in the neighbourhood could make meaningful preservation projects fail,' Ted Hui Chi-fung said.
A Food and Environmental Hygiene Department spokesman said the preservation of the dai pai dong stalls received the support of the district council.
It did not receive any objections from other government departments, including the Fire Services Department and Highways Department, when it issued licences to the four stalls, he added.
