Share
HONG KONG: A Lands Tribunal ruling has cast a shadow over attempts to save old but well-maintained walk-up buildings.
An owner facing the compulsory sale of his flat sought to have the building, designed by a renowned Chinese architect, graded as historic to save it from redevelopment. He applied to the tribunal for it to postpone a decision on a sale order until antiquities authorities could consider grading the building. But the tribunal refused, saying a grading would not influence its decision.
Gordon Li Kit-sang's flat is in a seven-storey building at 8 Observatory Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, which he says has heritage value, along with Nos 2, 4, 6, 10 and 12. They were designed by Robert Fan one of the most celebrated Chinese architects of the past century.
But the tribunal said any grading by the Antiquities Advisory Board would have no legal force on any order to force Li to sell his flat.
Li and his 90-year-old aunt are the only residents left in the 55-year-old block. He sees no reason to move, as it is in good condition.
Most such low-rise buildings, or tong lau, were built in the 1950s and '60s. Unlike new flats whose square footage is inflated by clubhouses and other facilities, buyers of tong lau get the square feet they pay for. As a result, more and more homebuyers seek them despite their age.
But tong lau have increasingly become targets for developers since the government lowered from 90% to 80% the ownership threshold at which a developer can force hold-outs in buildings older than 50 years to sell to them.
Four private companies have acquired more than 90% of the six blocks in Observatory Road. They have applied to the tribunal for a compulsory sale order on Li's flat. The antiquities board has declined Li's application for a historic grading on his building.
Wong Ho-yin, of the concern group People Planning in Action, said the tribunal's response was alarming. More than 20 tong lau have been graded, but Li's case made clear that no such grading would affect the tribunal in ruling on whether compulsory sales should go ahead.
"Although [the board] did not give a grading in this case, the case made it clear that any grading would not be binding," he said. "There is no provision in the law about buildings' heritage value. I'm afraid that in future, private residences, especially tong lau in old districts, could end up being sold compulsorily."
Buildings can be graded one, two or three on a declining scale of heritage value, but only those declared a monument are legally protected.
Li believed the buildings' historic value went beyond the fact Fan designed them. They were inhabited by the families of British servicemen who worked at the former Chatham Road Camp. Architectural details such as flower boxes on the front wall and wooden handrails on stairways were historically important, he said.
The antiquities board agreed with him on these points at a recent meeting, but found them not sufficient to support a grading, saying the buildings were not signature works of Fan.
The tribunal told Li last month, before the board met, that it would not adjourn the case to wait for the grading result because a grading would carry no legal weight.
"I feel so helpless. I can only continue to fight in court," Li said.
The tribunal will consider the compulsory sale case in February. — South China Morning Post
An owner facing the compulsory sale of his flat sought to have the building, designed by a renowned Chinese architect, graded as historic to save it from redevelopment. He applied to the tribunal for it to postpone a decision on a sale order until antiquities authorities could consider grading the building. But the tribunal refused, saying a grading would not influence its decision.
Gordon Li Kit-sang's flat is in a seven-storey building at 8 Observatory Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, which he says has heritage value, along with Nos 2, 4, 6, 10 and 12. They were designed by Robert Fan one of the most celebrated Chinese architects of the past century.
But the tribunal said any grading by the Antiquities Advisory Board would have no legal force on any order to force Li to sell his flat.
Li and his 90-year-old aunt are the only residents left in the 55-year-old block. He sees no reason to move, as it is in good condition.
Most such low-rise buildings, or tong lau, were built in the 1950s and '60s. Unlike new flats whose square footage is inflated by clubhouses and other facilities, buyers of tong lau get the square feet they pay for. As a result, more and more homebuyers seek them despite their age.
But tong lau have increasingly become targets for developers since the government lowered from 90% to 80% the ownership threshold at which a developer can force hold-outs in buildings older than 50 years to sell to them.
Four private companies have acquired more than 90% of the six blocks in Observatory Road. They have applied to the tribunal for a compulsory sale order on Li's flat. The antiquities board has declined Li's application for a historic grading on his building.
Wong Ho-yin, of the concern group People Planning in Action, said the tribunal's response was alarming. More than 20 tong lau have been graded, but Li's case made clear that no such grading would affect the tribunal in ruling on whether compulsory sales should go ahead.
"Although [the board] did not give a grading in this case, the case made it clear that any grading would not be binding," he said. "There is no provision in the law about buildings' heritage value. I'm afraid that in future, private residences, especially tong lau in old districts, could end up being sold compulsorily."
Buildings can be graded one, two or three on a declining scale of heritage value, but only those declared a monument are legally protected.
Li believed the buildings' historic value went beyond the fact Fan designed them. They were inhabited by the families of British servicemen who worked at the former Chatham Road Camp. Architectural details such as flower boxes on the front wall and wooden handrails on stairways were historically important, he said.
The antiquities board agreed with him on these points at a recent meeting, but found them not sufficient to support a grading, saying the buildings were not signature works of Fan.
The tribunal told Li last month, before the board met, that it would not adjourn the case to wait for the grading result because a grading would carry no legal weight.
"I feel so helpless. I can only continue to fight in court," Li said.
The tribunal will consider the compulsory sale case in February. — South China Morning Post
SHARE
