Page 15 - URA Annual Report 2021-22

“With all their strengths, our team has overcome hurdles and challenges, and make projects possible that had previously been regarded as impossible.”
Implementing new strategic studies to speed up the pace of urban renewal
Over the past year, the URA has moved the recommendations from the two strategic studies into implementation stage. For the YMDS, potential projects are being formulated based on the Master Urban Renewal Concept Plan (MRCP) and the use of new planning tools such as transfer of plot ratio, street consolidation and interchangeability of domestic/non-domestic plot ratio, so as to simultaneously achieve our objectives of creating development capacity, promoting private market participation and enhancing liveability in this old district.
In July this year, we supported Planning Department in initiating a batch of amendments to the relevant Outline Zoning Plans within Mong Kok district to implement the proposed recommendations and new planning tools of the YMDS, among others. Applications for the amendments have already been submitted to the Town Planning Board. By the end of this year, Planning Department is expected to announce details of other planning tools, including the proposed locations and implementation mechanisms for the street consolidation areas.
In the meantime, we have identified a project from one of the development nodes of the MRCP and a ‘district- based’ project where street consolidation can be applied, for incorporation into our Corporate Plan for the next five years. The Corporate Plan and the projects therein have already been approved by the Government, and will commence when appropriate.
Stepping up promotional efforts to boost owners’ participation in building rehabilitation
At the beginning of my tenure, I noted that a critical factor in realising sustainable urban renewal was the effectiveness of building rehabilitation. We therefore embarked on the New Strategy on Building Rehabilitation study in 2017, seeking to understand the views of owners of old buildings and the difficulties they encountered in building maintenance, in a bid to explore support measures that could better motivate them to carry out rehabilitation work.
Results of the study showed that owners of old buildings usually faced three main challenges that hindered their willingness to organise repair and maintenance works on their own: insufficient knowledge of building rehabilitation, lack of financial reserves, and lack of organisational capabilities.
In response to these findings, we have formulated specific strategies targeting the public and relevant stakeholders to step up promotional efforts and offer incentives. The aim is to encourage owners to carry out building maintenance and management on their own, while also raising their awareness of preventive maintenance.
At the public level, given that our audience covers the owners of many differently-aged buildings, we will develop targeted rehabilitation proposals in respect of the buildings’ ages and conditions. For owners of old buildings in poor condition, our utmost priority is to motivate them to organise repair and maintenance works as soon as possible, in addition to encouraging them to apply for various rehabilitation subsidy schemes covering different parts of the building. Through this approach, we hope to enhance their buildings’ safety and liveability. Meanwhile, to complement these promotional efforts, the Building Rehabilitation Resources Centre at eResidence – the first centre of its type in Hong Kong – will be opened in the third quarter of this year to provide owners with necessary information and technical assistance.
In parallel with the adoption of the ‘district-based rehabilitation’ approach in Kowloon City, we are targeting younger buildings with owners’ corporations or management companies to promote preventive maintenance work. Our support includes assisting owners to formulate regular maintenance proposals and prepare cost estimates for the rehabilitation work. In addition, we are exploring the provision of financial incentives to motivate the owners to save up for building maintenance, by way of offering additional deposit interest at the initial stage of their contributions to the maintenance reserve funds.
URA ANNUAL REPORT 2021-22 13
Managing Director’s Statement Operating Review Corporate Sustainability Management Discussion and Analysis Projects at a Glance Corporate Governance