Following is a question by the Hon Emily Lau and a written reply by the Secretary for Development, Mr Paul Chan, in the Legislative Council today (November 14):
Question:
It has been reported recently that an unauthorised structure in the form of a fabric canvas covering 3 000 square feet was erected on the garden terrace of Harbour Plaza Metropolis in Hung Hom for hosting wedding banquets and conferences. In this connection, will the Executive Authorities inform this Council:
(a) whether they have investigated the aforesaid incident of suspected unauthorised structure; if they have, of the details; if not, the reasons for that ;
(b) of the details (including the dates, locations, names of the buildings where the unauthorised structures were located, the statutory provisions contravened by the persons convicted, as well as the penalties imposed on such persons) of the cases handled by the authorities in the past three years which involved unauthorised structures in the form of outdoor canvases;
(c) of the details (including the dates, locations, names of the buildings where the unauthorised structures were located and the reasons for not dealing with such cases) of the cases in respect of which complaints involving unauthorised structures in the form of outdoor canvases were received but not dealt with by the authorities in the past three years; and
(d) of the measures adopted to prevent recurrence of such kind of incidents of unauthorised structures?
Reply:
President,
The Government attaches great importance to building safety. A set of multi-pronged measures to enhance building safety in Hong Kong was announced in end 2010. These measures cover legislation, enforcement, support and assistance to owners, publicity and public education. On the enforcement front, the Buildings Department (BD) has since April 2011 implemented a revised enforcement policy against unauthorised building works (UBWs) by broadening the scope of actionable UBWs to cover UBWs on rooftops and podiums as well as those in yards/courtyards and lanes of private buildings, irrespective of whether they pose any risk to public safety or whether they are newly constructed. In this connection, the BD has also launched a large scale operation (LSO) since April 2011 to inspect 500 target buildings annually for enforcement against such actionable UBWs, including unauthorised outdoor canvases. In addition, the BD will proactively follow up reports of UBWs by the public and take appropriate actions in accordance with the provisions of the Buildings Ordinance (Cap. 123) (BO) as well as the existing enforcement policy.
My reply to the four-part question is as follows –
(a) The BD received earlier a report by the public of suspected UBWs on the terrace at Level 7 of the Harbour Plaza Metropolis in Hung Hom. After inspection, an unauthorised canvas covering 3 000 square feet was found on the terrace. According to the existing enforcement policy against UBWs, the said unauthorised structure is an actionable UBW. Thus, following established procedures, the BD issued an advisory letter to the owner of the premises in May this year, advising him to arrange for removal of the said UBW and rectify the irregularities as soon as possible. On October 29 this year, the BD's officers inspected the site again and confirmed that the UBW concerned had been removed.
(b) and (c) For each report of UBWs, the BD will follow up under established procedures and handle it in accordance with the provisions of the BO and the existing enforcement policy against UBWs. Among the UBWs that it handled, the BD does not keep separate statistics on outdoor canvases.
(d) As abovementioned, the BD has since April 2011 implemented a revised enforcement policy against UBWs by broadening the scope of actionable UBWs to cover UBWs on rooftops and podiums as well as those in yards/courtyards and lanes of buildings to further tackle the problem of UBWs on the exterior of buildings. According to the revised enforcement policy against UBWs, unauthorised canvases on terraces are actionable UBWs. Upon receiving any report from the public and after verification through investigation, the BD will first issue an advisory letter to the owner of the premises advising him to make arrangements to remove the UBWs as soon as possible. The BD will also issue a removal order in an orderly manner to the owner concerned.
Ends/Wednesday, November 14, 2012
Issued at HKT 14:30
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