Latest news with #LandsDepartment
HKFP
14-05-2025
- Politics
- HKFP
Hong Kong lawmakers, councillors, residents oppose NGO's plan to open homeless shelter in Cheung Sha Wan
Hong Kong lawmakers, district councillors, and residents have opposed an NGO's application to open a homeless shelter in Cheung Sha Wan, citing concerns such as 'hygiene' and 'security.' The opposition comes after ImpactHK, an NGO that helps and supports street sleepers in the city, applied to the Lands Department to lease government land to open and run a homeless shelter in Cheung Sha Wan. According to a consultation paper the Lands Department sent to district councillors and residents, the location proposed by ImpactHK is at the intersection of Sham Mong Road and Sham Shing Road, Ming Pao reported on Tuesday. There are four private residential estates a few minutes' walk from the proposed location: Liberté, Pacifica, Banyan Garden, and Aqua Marine – known as the 'four little dragons of Cheung Sha Wan.' Rebecca Chan, a pro-establishment lawmaker, said on Facebook that she opposed the NGO's application because the selected site was 'extremely not ideal.' 'The location is close to residential areas, schools and shopping malls. In this crowded area, it will easily raise residents' concerns over hygiene, noise, and security,' she wrote in Chinese. People left comments on Chan's Facebook post, supporting her and thanking her for 'speaking up for the residents in the district.' 'Property prices have decreased. With this [homeless shelter] close to private residential estates, fewer people will want to buy or rent units in those estates,' one wrote, adding that they will also 'have to worry about security issues.' Lawmaker Vincent Cheng of the city's largest pro-establishment party, the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB); pro-establishment lawmaker Scott Leung; and district councillors Chan Kwok-wai and Theresa Chum also joined in opposing the NGO's application. The three legislators – Chan, Cheng, and Leung – posted on Facebook that they met with Under Secretary for Labour and Welfare Ho Kai-ming and Under Secretary for Development David Lam to convey the residents' objections. HKFP has reached out to the Labour and Welfare Bureau for comment. 'Don't stigmatise street sleepers' Ng Wai-tung, a social worker at local NGO Society for Community Organisation (SoCO), told Ming Pao on Tuesday that members of the public should not stigmatise street sleepers. The goal of a homeless shelter is to provide transitional accommodation for street sleepers before they are allocated a public housing unit, he said. Moreover, homeless shelters usually impose strict rules, including no smoking, no drinking, and no gambling, he added. According to the Social Welfare Department, as of last October, there were 606 street sleepers registered with authorities. The real number of homeless people is likely to be higher, Ng told HKFP in February, because many street sleepers do not want to be registered. By SoCO's own estimates, there are around 1,500 homeless people in Hong Kong. However, the number of beds in homeless shelters subsidised by the government increased by only 26 over more than a decade, from 202 in 2011 to 228 in 2024, Ng told Ming Pao.
South China Morning Post
17-03-2025
- South China Morning Post
Sense of urgency is required in rectifying illegal structures in Hong Kong
More than a year has passed since a Post investigation revealed the prevalence of unauthorised structures and illegal occupation of government land at three luxury estates in Hong Kong. The authorities responded by taking action against many of the owners of houses found to be in breach of the law, at Kowloon Peak, Tai Po and Tai Tam. This was a necessary step. Advertisement Progress has since been made in restoring the properties. But it is a painfully slow process. A return to the sites in December to compare drone footage with that of a year ago revealed only 10 per cent of owners concerned had dismantled their unauthorised structures and just a quarter had ceased occupying government land. There is still much work to be done. The Lands Department issued statutory notices to owners of 34 of the 50 houses identified, requiring them to stop using government land. The Buildings Department imposed removal orders or sent advisory letters to 44 homeowners regarding unauthorised structures. As a result, some private gardens have been scaled back. Two swimming pools have been filled in. In some cases, demolition is under way. But far too many owners have not yet put things right. Some may have legitimate reasons, either because they have appealed or their restoration plans are awaiting approval. But there should be no dragging of feet. The legal requirements must be complied with. The authorities are right to consider issuing warning letters or launching prosecutions if steps are not taken in adequate time. They must follow through on this promise. A record rainstorm in September 2023 highlighted the problem of illegal structures on luxury estates, when slopes at another coastal development collapsed. The government promised action. Much-needed changes to the law are expected to be made next year. A consultation on proposed amendments to the Buildings Ordinance ended last month. The changes promise a stronger deterrent, with a focus on the more serious illegal structures, such as basements and podiums. Penalties are to be increased and the threshold for prosecution lowered to stop owners pleading ignorance. The scope of the law is to be extended to catch solicitors, property agents and other professionals assisting owners to buy properties with such structures. Advertisement These are sensible steps, but the details need to be carefully worked out. Officials should also be open to other ideas, such as a fixed penalty for those found to have unlawfully occupied government land. There is a need for a sense of urgency so that this widespread problem that has troubled the city for decades can finally be tackled. New laws are needed. But in the meantime, the crackdown on errant owners must go on.
South China Morning Post
03-03-2025
- South China Morning Post
Have luxury Hong Kong estates made changes a year after Post exposed land grab?
Only a quarter of homeowners at three upmarket Hong Kong estates exposed by a Post investigation have ceased occupying public land a year after the findings were published, while about 10 per cent have demolished their unauthorised structures. Advertisement Experts said owners could have reasonable excuses for the delays, as they might be in the appeals process, awaiting approval for plans or relocating tenants. But the specialists urged the government to further step up enforcement over the suspected illegal use of land and increase penalties, in addition to a proposed amendment to the Buildings Ordinance targeting unauthorised structures. A consultation period over the changes to the ordinance ended on Friday last week. Authorities told the Post they would issue warning letters, or consider prosecution, for cases involving homeowners who dragged their feet in carrying out rectifications to their properties at Block B of Flamingo Garden on Kowloon Peak, Seaview Villas in Tai Po and Villa Rosa in Tai Tam. In February last year, the Post found that nearly 90 per cent of the 50 houses – valued at between HK$50 million (US$6.39 million) and HK$119 million each – in the three estates were suspected of having unauthorised additions at or near their properties. Some of these additions were built on government-owned slopes. Following the Post's investigation, the Lands Department eventually issued statutory notices requiring the cessation of occupation and the removal of structures on public land to 34 of the 50 houses.
South China Morning Post
25-02-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Singapore's Mapletree wins land tender, adds Tsing Yi logistics site to Hong Kong assets
Hong Kong has awarded Singapore's Mapletree Investments a 50-year land grant to a parcel of land in the New Territories for about HK$3.68 billion (US$473 million), according to the Lands Department on Tuesday. Advertisement Mapletree's unit Titanium 2 was the sole bidder for the 44,318-square-metre (477,000 sq ft) logistics site in Tsing Yi following a tender that closed on Friday. The 'positive market response' to the site, known as Tsing Yi Town Lot 202, 'clearly reflects the trade's continual confidence in Hong Kong's role as an international logistics hub', a spokesman for the Transport and Logistics Bureau said. Three other logistics sites will be released 'in a timely manner, taking into consideration the market situation', he added. Mapletree's real estate portfolio in Hong Kong includes an 11-storey grade-A logistics hub with a gross floor area of 120,550 square metres, also in Tsing Yi, and the Festival Walk shopping centre in Kowloon Tong, which has a gross floor area of 112,297 square metres. Advertisement The parcel can support a maximum gross floor area of 227,836 square metres for a multi-storey logistics facility and a public car park. Wholly owned by Singapore investment firm Temasek Holdings, Mapletree paid HK$1.69 billion in 2013 for its first site in Tsing Yi, which was its first greenfield development in Hong Kong.
South China Morning Post
29-01-2025
- South China Morning Post
Authorities start removing illegal clothes recycling bins from Hong Kong streets
Hong Kong authorities have started taking down clothes recycling bins illegally set up on the streets, as some collectors have been found to have exploited a loophole in the application process. Advertisement The Post identified a dozen such bins that appeared across the city in recent weeks as residents decluttered for Lunar New Year. Most bins bore no collector logos. In a reply to the Post, the Lands Department said on Tuesday that it had launched enforcement action jointly with the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department, but did not disclose the number of bins removed. 'Placing clothes recycling bins on government land without any approval by the Home Affairs Department constitutes unlawful occupation,' the Lands Department said. 'Enforcement action has been taken against the cases in the inquiry, to remove those illegally placed recycling bins.' Advertisement Photos of bins with no logos emerged on social media a few days ago as many internet users were confused about their origin, with some worrying that their clothes might be sold for profit by unknown parties.
