Illegal use of Hong Kong industrial space leaves only one option: make tenants responsible
The Ngau Tau Kok fire in an industrial building used for private storage has highlighted the dangers of the government’s policy of looking the other way
Currently, businesses that fall outside “industrial and/or godown” use but which are inside industrial buildings are deemed to have breached their land lease
SCMP, August 7
We still have a substantial manufacturing base in this town, judging by raw property figures that show 181 million square feet of flatted factory space.
As the first chart makes clear, however, there is something odd here. Restate these figures as an index in which the stock of factory space in 1996 was 100 and you get a present index figure of about 92, indicating a gradual decline over the years.
Clearly this indicates that there must be a good number of unused flatted factory buildings. If we choose not to tear them down, can we not put them to a wider range of uses?
No, we may not. The Lands Department has in hand a 2003 Court of Final Appeal ruling, Raider vs the Secretary for Justice, which tells developers and users, “No way, not unless we allow you!” And the department has not.