LC Paper No. CB(2)1105/07-08(01) For discussion on 22 February 2008 Legislative Council Panel on Home Affairs Subcommittee on Heritage Conservation Preservation of King Yin Lei at 45 Stubbs Road, Hong Kong PURPOSE This paper informs Members of the latest position regarding the declaration of King Yin Lei (including the associated buildings and its garden) (the “Building”) as a proposed monument on 15 September 2007 (L.N. 175 of 2007 refers) and seek Members’ views on the preservation proposals. BACKGROUND 2. The declaration of the Building as a proposed monument was made by the Authority (i.e. Secretary for Development) on 15 September 2007 after consultation with the Antiquities Advisory Board (AAB) under section 2A of the Antiquities and Monuments Ordinance (Cap. 53). The purposes of the declaration are to give the Building temporary statutory protection from further damage (the Building faced an immediate threat as some works had been carried out at the site to remove the roof tiles, stone features and window frames of the Building), to allow a period of up to 12 months for the Authority to consider in a comprehensive manner whether it should be declared as a monument and to discuss with the owner feasible options for preservation of the Building. Unless it is withdrawn earlier, the proposed monument declaration will expire after 14 September 2008. ASSESSMENT OF HERITAGE VALUE 3. Subsequent to the proposed monument declaration, the Antiquities and Monuments Office (AMO) has engaged experts both locally and from the Mainland to assess the heritage value of the Building and the scale of damage to the Building, and to advise on possible restoration options. An expert recommended by the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, Professor Tang Guohua of the School of Architecture and Urban Planning of Guangzhou University, was commissioned to conduct a heritage and architectural assessment of the Building and to recommend how the Building should be restored. Professor Tang reckoned that based on the information on the original architectural appearance now in hand and current restoration techniques, the - 2 - original appearance of King Yin Lei could be restored up to 80% while its heritage value could be basically recovered. Translation of the summary of Professor Tang’s assessment report is at Annex A. 4. Meanwhile, the AMO has in the past few months successfully gained access to the Building with the consent of its owner and has been able to obtain detailed information through on-site inspections. The Building’s present and previous owners have also provided the AMO with historical documents including old building plans and photographs showing the original layout and appearance of the Building. The information, together with Professor Tang’s assessment report, have enabled the AMO to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the heritage value of the Building to ascertain whether it merits declaration as a monument under the Ordinance. AMO considers that the heritage value of King Yin Lei reaches the threshold that justifies its declaration as a monument under the Ordinance. The gist of the AMO’s assessment is at Annex B. Separately, the owner has also confirmed, through his representatives, his agreement to carry out and fund the restoration works of King Yin Lei under the supervision of AMO. DECLARATION AS A MONUMENT 5. After considering the AMO’s assessment of the heritage value of the Building, the Authority consulted the AAB at its meeting held on 25 January 2008 on her intention to declare the Building as a monument under section 3(1) of the Ordinance. Members of the AAB unanimously supported the proposed declaration. Although the 12-month period of the proposed monument declaration will not lapse until September this year, we will now proceed to take action to declare King Yin Lei as a monument. In accordance with the Ordinance, the Authority will seek the Chief Executive’s approval for the declaration of the Building as a monument by notice in the Gazette. DISCUSSIONS WITH THE OWNER 6. The Government’s heritage conservation policy recognises the need for economic incentives in order to encourage and facilitate private owners to preserve historic buildings in their ownership. After several rounds of discussion with the owner’s representatives, Government has reached an understanding with the owner on a preservation option. Under the proposed arrangement, the owner will surrender the whole site of King Yin Lei to Government, while Government will grant an adjacent site of man-made slope of roughly the same size as King Yin Lei (about 4,700 m2) to the owner as exchange for new residential development. This site will be subject to the same development parameters as King Yin Lei, i.e. a plot ratio of 0.5 and a three-storey height restriction. - 3 - 7. The site we are considering granting is a man-made slope with slope stabilisation works undertaken in 2002 to the west of King Yin Lei. Although it is currently zoned as “Green Belt” under the Peak Area Outline Zoning Plan, it is a man-made slope with little vegetation. For details, please see the layout plan and relevant photos at Annex C. 8. The owner plans to construct five residential houses on the new site within the permissible plot ratio. The proposed development will not adversely affect the density, traffic load, landscape and greenery of the area or the vista of the neighbourhood. As the proposed development involves rezoning the new site from “Green Belt” to “Residential (Group C) 1”, approval from the Town Planning Board will be required. It is also subject to agreement by the concerned departments in accordance with the established procedures. We will seek approval of the Chief Executive in Council for the proposed non-in-situ land exchange in due course. 9. Following the discussions with Government, the owner has already submitted an application under section 12A of the Town Planning Ordinance (Cap. 131) to rezone the existing site of King Yin Lei from “Residential (Group C)1” to “Other Specified Uses” annotated “Historical Building Preserved” and at the same time, to rezone the new site from “Green Belt” to “Residential (Group C)1”. The rezoning application has been published for public inspection on 1 February 2008 and the Town Planning Board has scheduled to consider the rezoning application at its meeting on 18 April 2008. ADAPTIVE RE-USE 10. Once the declared monument of King Yin Lei comes under Government ownership, we plan to consult the public and devise proposals for its revitalisation. Our guiding principle is to put King Yin Lei to adaptive re-use and turn it into an attraction for local residents as well as tourists. We understand the public’s desire to have access into King Yin Lei to enjoy its architecture and to learn about its history. We will certainly plan the future preservation and revitalisation plans along this direction. ADVICE SOUGHT 11. During previous LegCo discussions on heritage conservation, Members have expressed support for some form of transfer of development right as a means to help preserve historic buildings in private ownership. We believe that the case of King Yin Lei is an important illustration of our commitment to - 4 - heritage conservation and would be grateful for Members’ support for the way forward. Members are invited to comment on the above. Development Bureau February 2008 Annex A (Translation) Summary of the Report on Site Investigation and Restoration Options King Yin Lei at 45 Stubbs Road, Hong Kong History and background King Yin Lei at 45 Stubbs Road, Hong Kong started to be built in 1936 on a slope overlooking the sea at the Mid-Levels of the Victoria Peak. Site formation and a stone retaining wall resulted in a flat piece of land on which stands a magnificent private residence owned by a Chinese. In the British colony of Hong Kong in the 1930’s, it was most remarkable for such a house rich in Chinese architectural features to be found on this prime site at the scenic Mid-Levels which was predominantly occupied by the British. This signifies historically the undeniable rise in the status of the Chinese merchant class in the British colony at that time. The residence has had three owners, with the name “King Yin Lei” being given by the second one. The environment and architectural features of King Yin Lei 2. The complex comprises a main building, an annex block, a garage, a subsidiary building, a pavilion, a swimming pool, etc. Situated at the hillside and facing the sea, the complex is surrounded by rich greenery. Due to geographical constraints, the architect designed the main building to be slightly (7.2 degrees) tilted to the north east to avoid facing due north, and the entrance of the complex orientated at east 32.4 degrees south to signify the fung shui idea of “the purple qi coming from the east”(紫氣東來). The main building has a spacious semi-circular fore courtyard situated on a 23-metre-deep slope augmented by a stone retaining wall over 11 metres in height. Protruding out of the hill, it is an auspicious fung shui setting of “being the champion” (獨佔 鰲頭). In the centre of the fore courtyard was a “half-moon pond” (now reclaimed) commonly found in traditional villages in southern China, which would mean to bring wealth to the owner. Located at the left (west) of the main building is a subsidiary building, while an annex block is right at its back to the left. A garage is at the left of the annex block and a pavilion is at the back of the main building a bit to the right.