HONG KONG, Oct. 22 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) Hong Kong today announces its official comments regarding the heritage conservation policies announced by Mr. Donald Tsang, Chief Executive of HKSAR Government in his latest Policy Address on 10 October 2007.
About "Heritage Impact Assessment" (HIA)
RICS HK fully supports the idea of carrying out HIA for all Government Projects that may affect heritage sites or buildings. It would be more beneficial to the industry and also the community if mandatory HIA requirements are imposed for all new land sales, land exchanges, lease modifications and all private redevelopment projects in respect of land lots adjoining or adjacent to heritage sites or buildings.
About "Revitalization of Heritage Buildings"
RICS HK believes that the "Revitalization of Heritage Buildings" approach is in line with the sustainable conservation concept. However, on top of this, RICS would recommend relevant Government Departments to take pro-active and flexible approaches in facilitating the proposed "revitalization uses", which may be contradicting existing land lease conditions, town planning ordinances, or prevailing building regulations.
Again, Surveyors can contribute their respective expertises in all revitalization projects, from initial land and building surveys by geomatics or building surveying surveyors, preparation of feasibility study by valuation surveyors, estimation of repair, maintenance or revitalization costs by quantity surveyors, compliance with building regulations by building control surveyors, rural and environment considerations by rural and environment surveyors, through construction and project management by project management surveyors, to the after completion facilities management of the revitalized heritage buildings or sites by facilities management surveyors.
About URA's 4Rs Strategy
It is essential for the Urban Renewal Authority (URA) to implement its 4Rs Strategy (i.e. Redevelopment, Rehabilitation, pReservation, and Revitalization) to cover pre-war buildings. However, it will be prudent to list out the criteria under which a block or blocks of pre-war buildings should be revitalized, instead of demolished for comprehensive urban renewal redevelopment.
About "Public / Private Participation"
NGOs, private sectors and the general public should be encouraged to participate in the heritage conservation exercise of government owned heritage buildings or sites at the early stage, so that the advice from a team of Heritage Conservation experts including Surveyors, architects, engineers, and environmentalists etc can be incorporated into the ultimate decision on whether to conserve a building or site as Heritage Building or Site, having regards to its relative important aesthetic, architectural, cultural, historical, social, and scientific values.
Incentives for Private Owned Projects
For private owned heritage buildings or sites, more fiscal measures or incentives could be provided by the Government so as to encourage private owners to preserve, conserve and re-vitalize their respective buildings or sites. Possible incentives include rates exemption or relief, tax-deductions for maintenance or repair costs or other costs incurred in heritage conservation activities, property tax incentives, and Government grants or aids with a view of encouraging private owners to systematically upkeep their heritage buildings or sites. Systematic maintenance programs can also reduce the need for ad-hoc large-scale and very often expensive repairs in the long-run. Some international experience on the fiscal measures can be found in the RICS Research Paper "A review of fiscal measures to benefit heritage conservation" dated July 2007.
The Establishment of Heritage Conservation Office
Out of the many challenging tasks of the HCO, RICS HK recommends one top priority task is to carry out, jointly with AMO, an comprehensive survey or review of both existing or would-be heritage buildings or sites regardless of whether they are already graded by AMO or not by seeking the advice of the Heritage Conservation experts, and involving public participation, for example by consultation with all relevant local organizations including district boards, rural or village committees.
Media enquiry, please contact:
RICS Asia Pacific Public Relations Representative
Ms Belinda Chan / Ms Katherine Chow
Tel: +852-2372-0090
Fax: +852-2372-0490
Mobile: +852-9379-3045 / 9256-3223
Email: belinda@creativegp.com / kat@creativegp.com
