The Bishop's Hill Service Reservoir in Sham Shui Po began to be open to the public on a limited basis last year. However, the government announced a few days ago (9th) that due to the development of the epidemic, the site will be temporarily closed for guided tours.
The Sham Shui Po District Council also held discussions today (11th) on the conservation and community engagement work of Bishop's Hill.
Among them, the representative of the Water Supplies Department said that the form of self-guided tours and the possibility of raising the maximum number of gatherings were already under discussion, but last week, the epidemic situation suddenly became serious, and new arrangements were needed. The non-governmental organizations and scholars who have contributed a lot to the incident have not been able to visit the site so far. I hope the Water Supplies Department can take the initiative and contact them as soon as possible.
Guided tours suspended for virtual tours
Sponsored by the Water Supplies Department, the free guided tour of the Bishop's Hill Service Reservoir in Sham Shui Po has been "hard to get a ticket" since its inception. The guided tour has recently been temporarily suspended due to the epidemic. The public can take a 360-degree virtual tour through the Water Supplies Department. Regarding the long-term conservation and revitalization plan of the service reservoir, the Government only stated that "the authorities will study it".
At the Sham Shui Po District Council meeting held today, a number of district councilors, including Yuen Haiwen, Ng Yuet-lan, Tan Tak-shing and Li Ting-fung, asked questions, including whether the number of guided tours would be increased and the arrangement of guided tours would be adjusted, and whether some time slots would be allocated to allow Members of the public or non-governmental organizations hold guided tours, whether they have consulted non-governmental organizations and community members on the content of the guided tours, etc.
When attending the meeting, Chief Engineer of the Water Supplies Department, Ho Lai-wah, said that the guided tours started in December last year. There is a preliminary answer, but there are new changes due to the epidemic last week, and no new arrangements have been made so far.
Ho also pointed out that the department will actively follow up and review different feasible solutions. He also pointed out that the current guided tour has absorbed the opinions of the Office of the Commissioner for Heritage Conservation and the AMO, and has also provided support for the Antiquities Council and the Advisory Committee on Conservation of Historic Buildings. , the Hong Kong Institute of Architects, the Water Advisory Committee and the Bishop's Hill Concern Group have arranged guided tours, and welcome comments from all walks of life on the content of the guided tours.
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Sham Shui Po District Councillor Lee Ting-fung pointed out that many professional groups have provided opinions on the Bishop's Hill incident for the department to review, and contributed a lot. Wu Yuelan believes that the response of the Water Supplies Department is not substantive enough, and hopes that when the Department has long-term plans for the conservation of Bishop's Hill in the future, it can also inform and consult at the District Council. "Falling" and real.
Sham Shui Po District Council Chairman Tan Tak-shing concluded that some neighbors reported that the guided tour of Bishop's Hill was only held in the morning, and questioned whether it would not be open every afternoon and would hinder the right of the public to visit.
He also pointed out that he hoped that the department could arrange for the district council working group and non-governmental professional groups to visit Bishop's Hill, hoping to find more humanistic elements from the on-site appreciation for the government's reference.
In addition, Tan mentioned that the District Office currently has the power to withdraw funds from the District Councils. At present, the District Councils have not been able to process any funds and can only make recommendations, believing that the situation is very unsatisfactory.
The Bishop's Hill Service Reservoir in Sham Shui Po is temporarily closed due to the epidemic. The long-term conservation and revitalization plan is yet to be studied.
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