Heritage experts have criticised the government's passive approach to conservation after it was found that a graded historic villa owned by New Territories strongman Lau Wong-fat has been left to rot.
Yu Yuen - which was rated a Grade I historic building in 2002 because of its unique architecture and symmetrical shape - has fallen into ruin. Instead of ordering its owner to repair and restore the building, the Antiquities Advisory Board downgraded it last May.
The European-style villa was built by businessmen Tsoi Po-tin in 1934 in Tung Tau Wai. Lau, leader of powerful rural affairs body the Heung Yee Kuk, bought the building through a company called Profit Rich Industrial with four partners for HK$12.5 million in 1991. They submitted an application to build village houses on the site in 2002.
The Antiquities and Monuments Office, after receiving the application, found the building to be worthy of preservation. It declared Yu Yuen a Grade I historic site and praised it as 'a rare example of Western classical architecture in rural village settings'.
A Grade I historic site has the potential to become a declared monument and the owner should make every effort to preserve it, so the plan to build village houses was blocked.
After the government's decision, Profit Rich Industrial simply left the building to decay.
It was downgraded to Grade II last May because of its poor condition. A Grade II building requires only 'selective preservation' and much greater modifications are allowed.