THE Regional Council will decide today whether to impose stricter fire safety and ventilation requirements on all food businesses in the New Territories as a condition of licence renewal.
All restaurants opened after 1990, when the Fire Services requirements were imposed, are already forced to comply, but the council is now considering extending the regulations to those opened before 1990.
Under the rules, all restaurants have to install smoke detectors and a manual alarm system. They also have to make sure at least half the windows can be opened easily.
Regional Councillor Yeung Fuk-kwong, chairman of the Environmental and Hygiene Select-Committee, said restaurant owners would be given a grace period of one to two years.
Those who failed to comply would risk non-renewal of their licences.
About 300 restaurants in the New Territories would be affected and the proposal, if passed, would be implemented immediately.
