List of Black Spots of Shop Front Extensions
Dear Home Affairs Department Headquarters,
The problem of perennial occupation of pedestrian passageways by goods and illegal hawking in public places by shop operators around the Shui Wo Street Municipal Services Building (瑞和街市政大廈) has not been properly tackled for a long time. For example, shop operators and hawkers always block the lanes between buildings leading to Shui Wo Street and leave their goods/wastes on roads. The District Environmental Hygiene Superintendent, Mr Leung Yat King (梁溢景先生) is responsible for combating street obstruction in Kwun Tong, works at Shui Wo Street Municipal Services Building, sees the problem everyday but turns a blind eye and colludes with his colleagues in return for an easy life in his office.
The Home Affairs Department has published a list of black spots of shop front extensions. This lists contains black spots in 16 districts out of 18 but NONE in Kwun Tong.
https://www.had.gov.hk/file_manager/en/d...
I would like to know:
(1) when was this list first published?
(2) what are the dates that this list was updated?
(3) what are the criteria for compiling this list?
(4) why Shui Wo Street Municipal Services Building was not included in this list when it was compiled?
Lastly, I would like to urge you to consider including Shui Wo Street Municipal Services Building in this list.
Yours faithfully,
Jimmy
Dear Jimmy,
Our department has received your application for access to information on
13 August 2019. Your application is now under processing.
In the meantime, please contact Mr Martin WONG at 2835 1046 if you have
any enquiry.
(Jesse LEUNG)
for Director of Home Affairs
Dear Jimmy,
Thank you for your email dated 13 August 2019 to the Home Affairs
Department (HAD). In consultation with the Kwun Tong District Office
(KTDO) and the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD), I am
authorised to reply as follows.
2. Under the existing mechanism, District Offices and the
relevant enforcement departments would, based on the agreed criteria (such
as whether the extensions would cause imminent danger to the pedestrians
and other road users, or cause severe impact on the road access,
environmental hygiene, and living environment etc.) consult District
Councils and/or District Management Committees to devise the list of black
spots that should be assigned a high priority in enforcement actions
against shop front extension (SFE).
3. The fixed penalty system against SFE came into operation
on 24 September 2016. There was opinion that the government should make
available the list of SFE black spots and tolerated areas for the public’s
information. The list of black spots was compiled by the enforcement
departments, taking into account District Councils’ views in the process.
The list of black spots is not conclusive as the individual enforcement
departments would remain responsible for drawing up enforcement plans and
priorities, taking into account the relevant circumstances which may
change over time. The list of black spots was first uploaded onto the
website of HAD in 2015. It was last updated in 2017.
4. Although Shui Wo Street is not on the list, the
enforcement departments and KTDO are aware of the SFE situation in the
area. In 2018-19, FEHD conducted over 260 operations against SFEs in Kwun
Tong District and issued a total of 273 Fixed Penalty Notices and 29
summons of obstruction. Enforcement departments have been heeding to the
SFE issue on Shui Wo Street. In this connection, FEHD conducted 77
operations against SFEs at Shui Wo Street since April 2019. HAD has also
coordinated ad-hoc joint enforcement operations at Shui Wo Street
involving FEHD and the Police, with the last operation being held in April
2019.
5. Thank you again for your suggestions on the subject of SFE in
Shui Wo Street. We will relay your comments to FEHD and KTDO. If you
have further suggestions or comments, please contact Miss Anita LO at 2835
1371.
Yours sincerely,
Jesse LEUNG
(for Director of Home Affairs)
