Summary Translation of Minutes of the 8th Meeting of the North District Council (2012-2015)

The 8th Meeting of the North District Council (NDC) (2012-2015) was held on 22 February 2013. The major issues discussed are summarised below:

I. Confirmation of Minutes of the Last Meeting

2. The minutes of the 7th Meeting were confirmed.

II. Signature Projects Scheme – Proposed Projects 3. Mr YAU Kin-chung, District Officer (North) (DO), presented the paper. The two projects proposed by North District Office (NDO) were “Improvements to hiking facilities and provision of additional ancillary facilities at Wu Tip Shan and Wa Mei Shan in ” (the Wu Tip Shan Project) and “Improvements to facilities in the area of District adjacent to Yan Chau Tong Marine Park and Global Geopark of China to promote sustainable geo- and eco-tourism” (the Sha Tau Kok Project).

4. Members appreciated the provision of $100 million for each District Council (DC) for improving the environment and constructing livelihood facilities, and generally supported the two projects proposed by NDO. Members considered that the projects had taken advantage of the unique geographic features of North District and would enhance the quality of the tourist spots in the district. They would benefit not only residents of North District but also all visitors. The projects were sustainable and the development of tourism would help promote the local economy as well as that of North District. Members had put forward various proposals to improve the facilities in Wu Tip Shan and Sha Tau Kok in the past, but the results were unsatisfactory because of lack of coordination and planning. Members, therefore, supported the implementation of the projects in a large-scale and systematic way. Besides, the Wu Tip Shan Project would release resources for implementation of other district minor works projects.

5. Some Members considered inappropriate to impose limitations on the use of the funds and there was insufficient time to consult residents of North District on the proposed projects. Besides, it was considered unfair to evenly distribute resources to 18 districts because North District had a vast territory and many obnoxious facilities such as columbaria, cemeteries and organic waste treatment facilities were provided in North District. The Government should

1 compensate residents of North District by providing more resources for the district and the practice of even distribution of resources to all districts should be reviewed. Members also urged DO to fight for more financial and human resources for North District from the Government so that more district minor works projects could be carried out as soon as possible. It was also suggested that any unused allocations of other districts for district minor works projects should be transferred to North District.

6. There were also the views that the proposed two projects could be handled by other government departments and the resources should be used on other livelihood facilities with pressing demand in the district. These projects proposed by Members included the provision of a covered walkway system in Sheung Shui, provision of artificial turf soccer pitches, improvements to and revitalisation of and Luen Wo Hui, and provision of a footbridge connecting the MTR and Luen Wo Hui. Some Members proposed that improvements to the surroundings of Sha Tau Kok Pier, expansion or development of Lung Yuek Tau Heritage Trail and construction of a waterfront walking trail between Kai Kuk Shue Ha Village and Fung Hang Village should be included in the proposed projects. It was also proposed that the resources should be used on the parts of Sha Tau Kok Frontier Closed Area that were opened up. Besides, it was suggested that Members could put forward proposed projects after consulting residents of the district, and a list of projects with priority accorded after discussion could be compiled to prepare for the next allocation of funds, if any.

7. DO responded that since it was uncertain whether there would be any further allocation of funds in the coming years, he could only identify the most suitable projects and try to accomplish them within the current DC term. He proposed the setting up of the North District Signature Projects Steering Group (the Steering Group) to discuss the details of the proposed projects and monitor their future implementation. He pointed out that an important principle of the Signature Projects Scheme (SPS) was that other works projects would not be affected and he reiterated that projects not included as signature projects would not be overlooked. It was hoped that the Government would take into consideration the situation of North District and increase the allocation for district minor works projects for North District in the coming Budget Speech. He agreed that the change of Wu Tip Shan Project from a district minor works project to a signature project would release resources for implementation of other works projects. He would fight for more human resources from the Government and a consultant would be engaged for SPS separately. He agreed that residents of North District had supported the provision of many unpopular facilities in the district in the overall interests of Hong Kong. He promised to reflect Members’ views on the allocation of resources to the senior management 2 of Home Affairs Department. Regarding the various projects proposed by Members, he stated that they would be followed up by the District Minor Works and Environmental Improvement Committee (DMW&EIC). Regarding the proposal of improvements to the area of Sha Tau Kok Square, it could be referred to the Steering Group for considering whether it would be included in the Sha Tau Kok Project or would be followed up by the DMW&EIC. The Steering Group would also consider the provision of transport and ancillary facilities at the more mature stage of development of the signature projects.

8. The Chairman thanked DO for his detailed responses. He stated that Members approved the above two projects as the proposed signature projects of North District and also approved the setting up of the Steering Group.

III. Proposal: Request for a Comprehensive Review of the Individual Visit Scheme 9. Mr LAU Kwok-fan presented the paper. A joint reply from the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau (CEDB) and Security Bureau (SB) in respect of the proposal had been distributed to Members.

10. Members considered that the local economy had benefited from the “Individual Visit Scheme” (IVS) but IVS had also brought about the problem of parallel trading activities. It was time to review IVS, in particular, the “multiple-entry endorsements”. The Government should handle the IVS policy with prudence and discuss with the Mainland to improve the policy. Hong Kong was a free port and the Government should carefully distinguish genuine visitors under IVS from parallel traders. A black list of frequent parallel traders should be maintained and their entry to Hong Kong should be refused. The Mainland government should review their policies such as increasing the customs tariff. Members generally agreed that the main consideration of IVS was the overall capacity of Hong Kong to receive tourists and considered that there were insufficient ancillary facilities at present. The provision of ancillary facilities, in particular resources for North District, should be increased. In view of the present overall capacity of Hong Kong to receive tourists, the Government should consider limiting the number of visitors under IVS. It was learnt from the joint reply of CEDB and SB that the Government was assessing the overall capacity of Hong Kong to receive tourists. It was hoped that the assessment would be completed as soon as possible and the public were allowed to participate in the discussion of the assessment results.

11. The Chairman stated that the DC Secretariat would relay the minutes of

3 this meeting to government departments concerned and hoped that they would follow up Members’ views.

IV. Applications for District Council Funds 12. A total of 10 applications for District Council Funds were approved.

V. Appointment of Co-opted Members of Committees under NDC for 2013

13. Members approved the nomination of Mr HAU Wing-kwong as a co-opted member of the DMW&EIC.

VI. District Lands Office/North: Returns on Redevelopment of Exempted House Applications and Small House Applications in North District 14. The paper was noted.

VII. Report of the 6th Meeting of the North District Management Committee in 2012 15. Members pointed out that the problem of illegal parking of bicycles in the district was very serious causing obstruction to the pedestrian access and fire escape, and bicycles parked at the railings of footbridges caused inconvenience and danger to the elderly. However, the existing ways of handling the problem were ineffective. It was urged that double-decker bicycle parking racks should be installed as soon as possible. The proposals put forward by Members to solve the problem included assigning people to manage bicycles by making reference to the practice of the Mainland, delineating a certain area at major access for emergency access, taking more stringent actions against illegally parked bicycles, looking for areas at MTR stations to provide more parking spaces or even building a basement under the MTR stations for parking bicycles, providing free shuttle buses travelling to and fro MTR stations as in other districts, and formulation of legislation for regulating the parking of bicycles.

16. DO responded that at present illegally parked bicycles were deemed to be occupying government lands illegally and were handled according to the relevant legislation. However, the law required that sufficient warnings had to be given, rendering the enforcement actions not very effective. The cooperation of FEHD and the Police was required in the handling of these bicycles if they were deemed to be obstructing public places or street cleansing

4 work. It was anticipated that the situation would be even worse if no joint enforcement actions were taken and therefore such joint actions would continue. Besides, at present wires were installed at some railings to prevent illegal parking of bicycles. However, there were limitations as the view of drivers and pedestrians could not be obstructed. Regarding the proposal of assigning people to manage the parking of bicycles, some issues had to be studied first. For example, whether a clearance action could be taken without giving prior warning at certain places and under what statutory authority the managers could issue fixed-penalty tickets. The Government would explore ways to handle the problem and would report to NDC if there was any new development. TD’s representative stated that the double-decker parking rack scheme was on trial at present.

17. The paper was noted.

VIII. Reports of the Working Groups under NDC (a) NDC Publicity Working Group (b) Working Group on Festival Activities (c) Concern Group on the Construction of Liantang Boundary Control Point (d) Working Group on Healthy City 18. The Chairmen of the five Working Groups briefed Members on the progress of work performed and activities held by the Working Groups.

IX. Any Other Business 19. Regarding the new use of the former Fanling Magistracy, Members were dissatisfied that no consultation had ever been made with NDC. Members pointed out that the former Fanling Magistracy was a heritage as well as a landmark of the district and they demanded that the department concerned come to NDC to report on the proposed use. DO stated that the Government had a plan to revitalise historic buildings and the former Fanling Magistracy had been included in the plan for some time. He also agreed that the department concerned should come to NDC to explain the plan in due course. The Chairman pointed out that it was a common practice for organisations to apply for the use of historic buildings. However, DCs should at least be informed of these cases so that if there were different opinions or oppositions against the applications, discussions could be carried out earlier in order to find out a solution which would benefit the community. He hoped that this message would be relayed to the department concerned and NDC would be informed if similar situations arose in future.

5 X. Date of Next Meeting 20. The next meeting would be held at 9:30 am on 11 April 2013 in the NDC Conference Room.

North District Council Secretariat March 2013

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