Government advisers are to discuss whether Shaw Studios will be given the top heritage grading next week - six months after it was proposed and three months after planners approved the site's redevelopment.
The former cradle of the city's film industry in Clear Water Bay is set to be demolished, yet the Antiquities Advisory Board yesterday released a paper saying its expert panel had proposed a grade one heritage status for the site.
Grade one sites are at the top of the three-tier heritage classifications. Gradings do not give buildings protection against alteration or demolition - only declared monuments are protected - but grade one status flags them as potential monuments.
The top grading would put pressure on the owners to enter talks with the government on conservation possibilities.
Antiquities board members have yet to be given the reasons for the assessment. The board is due to meet on Wednesday.
A person familiar with the Shaw Studios project told the Post the board's expert panel had made a unanimous decision at a meeting in September that the site should have grade one status.