18 District News
Written by: District Licheng
2021-07-08 18:53
The last update date: 2021-07-08 18:53
Abandoned schools in Hong Kong are everywhere, but a large number of grassroots citizens who are not suitable for housing will go upstairs indefinitely. Transitional housing is also their expectation.
According to the results of the 2016 Population By-census, it is estimated that there are more than 90,000 subdivided houses in Hong Kong, with nearly 210,000 residents.
Some concerned groups pointed out that the Chinese Christian Kai Oi School at 111 Sai Yeung Choi Street South, Mong Kok, is undergoing renovation works. Since the school building has been vacant for several years, they want to know the future development use of the school building and are concerned about whether it is related to the housing use. They today (8 Day) Submit letters to representatives of the Education Bureau and the Lands Department expressing their opinions on the use of idle land such as vacant school buildings.
The Joint Concern for Grassroots Housing said that according to the Planning Department’s update of the vacant school site report on May 10, 2021, the Chinese Christian Kai Ai School was managed by the Education Bureau and was permanently allocated for educational purposes at the end of last year.
However, the group pointed out that an earlier survey and research showed that Yau Tsim Mong has the largest number of sub-apartment units in the 18 districts in Hong Kong, with an estimated 42,000 units.
The group also stated that they are pleased to see Yau Tsim Mong District Councillors also caring about the future development of vacant school buildings, and invited representatives from the Education Bureau and the Lands Department to attend today's District Council Community Building Committee meeting for discussion.
The group believes that there are still 38 vacant school premises on government land that can be applied for short-term use during the long-term use period. However, some non-governmental organizations may not have relevant knowledge, which greatly restricts the development of transitional housing by non-governmental organizations. Therefore, it is recommended that the government provide appropriate support to organizations interested in applying for housing purposes. It can also refer to the principle of "government-led" implementation of transitional housing in other countries. The government can actively search for land, manage, etc., to shorten the completion of social housing Time, provide more units, and hope that the government can simplify the process of applying for the development of transitional housing and increase subsidies, and provide clear guidelines and support to attract more organizations to participate in the project.
Abandoned schools in Hong Kong are everywhere, but a large number of grassroots citizens who are not suitable for housing will go upstairs indefinitely. (Photo)
The former site of Kai Oi School will be handed over to a special school as a temporary school building
Yau Tsim Mong District Councillors Hu Suishan and Zhu Jiangwei also responded on the spot. Hu Suishan pointed out that the current government has insufficient communication with district councilors and non-governmental organizations regarding the development of vacant land, and hopes that the government will allow the private sector to participate in the discussion of the development of direct land use. And hand over the timetable for the reuse of vacant school premises and land as soon as possible to help solve the housing problem.
Zhu Jiangwei expressed that he hopes to use the resources of the district council to find more vacant land for development, and today he also asked questions in the community construction committee of the district council on the future development of the former site of the Chinese Christian Kai Ai School.
He knows that the government has now completed the renovation and will hand it over to the temporary school building of the newly-operated special school "Tung Wah Group of Hospitals Bao Yuxing School" until the new school building of the school concerned is completed. It is planned that the school building will continue after the special school moves out. It is used for educational purposes, but there are no details. I hope that the bureau will explain the future plan in a later date.
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Abandoned school subordinate housing base transitional house in Yau Tsim Mong Community
