Three HKU buildings move towards monument status as Fung Ping Shan Building, Eliot Hall and May Hall are endorsed by Antiquities Advisory Board
The buildings have had grade one heritage status since 2009, meaning every effort possible should be made to preserve them. As declared monuments, the government could stop owners from redevelopment
Three buildings steeped in second world war history on the campus of Hong Kong’s oldest university moved a step closer on Thursday to being protected from redevelopment.
The Antiquities Advisory Board unanimously endorsed a government proposal to declare as official monuments Fung Ping Shan Building, Eliot Hall and May Hall at the 107-year-old University of Hong Kong in Pok Fu Lam.
The buildings’ exteriors have been determined to possess “significant heritage value”.
“The three historic buildings have reached the ‘high threshold’ to be declared as monuments for permanent protection under the Antiquities and Monuments Ordinance,” the Antiquities and Monuments Office told the board, which advises the government on historic buildings and relics.
The buildings have had grade one heritage status since 2009 – the highest rank in a three-tier grading system, meaning every effort possible should be made to preserve them. Officials can now stop owners from redeveloping them.