Replies to LegCo questions
LCQ15: Supply of columbarium niches
Following is a question by the Hon Leung Kwok-hung and a written reply by the
Secretary for Food and Health, Dr York Chow, in the Legislative Council today
(February 29):
Question:
Regarding the supply of columbarium niches, will the Government inform this
Council whether:
(a) it knows the total number of niches provided by the 32 private columbaria
under Part A (i.e. private columbaria compliant with user restrictions in the
land leases and the statutory town planning requirements and are not illegally
occupying Government land) in the list of private columbaria updated by the
Development Bureau (DevB) as at December 30, 2011, and the utilisation rate of
such niches;
(b) it knows the total number of niches provided by the 66 private columbaria
under Part B (i.e. other private columbaria known to the Lands Department and/
or Planning Department that do not fall under Part A) in the list of private
columbaria updated by DevB as at December 30, 2011, and the utilisation rate of
such niches;
(c) it has carried out any planning for the number of public niches to be
supplied in the coming 10 years; if it has, of the details; and
(d) it has carried out any planning for the number of private niches to be
supplied in the coming 10 years; if it has, of the details?
Reply:
President,
Currently, there are eight public columbaria managed by the Food and
Environmental Hygiene Department providing about 167 900 public niches, with
some 300 re-used public niches available each year for allotment to applicants
on the waiting list. A total of about 216 600 niches are provided and managed by
the Board of Management of the Chinese Permanent Cemeteries, all of which have
been allotted, with only a small number available for re-use. Other cemeteries
managed by the Catholic, Protestant, Buddhist and other religious bodies provide
about 126 700 niches in total, of which some 34 000 are not yet allotted.
Besides, the Government also encourages the public to use more sustainable means
of handling cremains and paying tribute to the deceased (such as scattering of
cremains in Gardens of Remembrance (GoRs) or in designated Hong Kong waters as
well as the Internet memorial service).
In order to provide information on private columbaria made known to the relevant
Government departments to the public in a more systematic manner and help the
public make informed choices when purchasing niches, the Development Bureau (DEVB)
published in December 2010 relevant land/ lease (user restrictions) and town
planning information on the private columbaria made known to the Lands
Department and Planning Department, and which the departments had reason to
believe are operating as columbaria. The information has been uploaded to the
website of DEVB and will be updated quarterly, with the latest edition published
on December 30, 2011. My reply to the four parts of the question is as follows:
(a) and (b) There are established channels and procedures for private
columbarium operators to apply to the departments or organisations concerned for
columbarium development or regularisation of their operation (e.g. applying for
the relevant planning permission and/ or lease modification, etc). The
Government does not have complete statistics on the niches provided by private
columbaria at this moment. For such planning applications submitted by operators
recently, the number of niches under application or approved will be included in
the Information on Private Columbaria (the Information). Depending on the
circumstances of each case, the number of niches (if any) that may be provided
under the land leases etc. will also be included in the Information.
(c) and (d) The construction of a public columbarium with a GoR at Kiu Tau Road
of Wo Hop Shek will be completed in July 2012 to provide about 43 000 niches.
Also, the concept of district-based columbarium development projects has also
received public support. The Government has identified 24 potential sites in all
18 districts across the territory. Of these, with the support of the relevant
District Councils (DCs), the Diamond Hill Columbarium extension project is due
for completion soon (providing 1 540 niches) whereas the Cheung Chau Cemetery
extension project (providing 990 niches) will commence in early 2013 and is
expected to complete by the end of 2013. The Government is forging ahead with
the technical feasibility studies or traffic impact assessment (where required)
related to those remaining sites to ascertain their feasibility, before rolling
out the consultation with the various DCs from the second quarter of 2012
onwards. Subject to the support of DCs and the Legislative Council, it is
estimated that together with the supply of Chinese Permanent Cemeteries, the
Government will be able to provide more than 120 000 new niches in the coming
five years (i.e. from 2012 to 2016), and the supply of new niches will
cumulatively increase to hundreds of thousands in the medium and long term (i.e.
from 2017 to 2031). As for the supply of private columbarium niches, it will be
determined by the market demand and supply.
Ends/Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Issued at HKT 12:35
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