Control of Unauthorized Building Works under the Buildings Ordinance
The unauthorized building works (UBW) issue has been widely discussed in the society recently. BSD noted that the public and the media might have diverse and mingled understanding on the legal background of the subject. In order to assist the public to grip a proper understanding on the legal background and current enforcement policy of the government on UBW, a media conference was held by our spokesmen Mr Vincent Ho (Chairman of BSD), Mr Andrew Kung (Vice Chairman of BSD) and Mr David Chan (Past Chairman of BSD). The following messages were delivered to the media:

1. There is clear definition of UBWs under the Buildings Ordinance (BO) that any building works carried out without prior approval and consent under the BO may be regarded as UBWs unless it is exempted under section 41(3) of BO (i.e. an "exempted works").
2. However, even the subject works may be an exempted works, it must not be carried in contravention from any requirements under the Buildings Ordinance and the allied regulations. Otherwise, BD may still instigate enforcement action under section 24(1) of BO requiring removal or rectification of such contravention.
3. The public must be aware that, as a matter of principle, UBWs are not allowed under the law. Building owners or tenants should not attempt to carry out any UBWs whatever minor in nature or scale.
4. In dealing with the existing UBWs problem, we believe BD should only exercise discretion under the principle laid down by the current law.
5. We have urged the Government to educate the public about UBWs and suggest the public to seek professional advice from building surveyors or authorized person in case of doubt on any presence of UBWs in their premises;
6. We also advise the public not to infringe the Buildings Ordinance by carrying out any unauthorized building works.

BSD hopes, through media publication, the public's awareness on UBWs could be raised. That is what we building surveyors could contribute to the society.

Members may wish to refer to a collection of media reporting on the press conference and interviews by the media on this issue at the Facebook created under the title of "BSD-Hong Kong Institute of Surveyors".

2011 Mainland and Hong Kong Construction Industry Forum Luoyang, Zhengzhou
Delegates of the Institute comprising representatives of BSD namely, Mr Kenneth Yun, Mr Alex Wong, Mr Robin Leung, Mr Philip Tse and I attended the Forum held in Luoyang on 28 May 2011 organized by the Development Bureau and various professional institutes including HKIS.

The theme of this year's conference was "歷史文化名城的保護和發展". We invited Mr Nelson Ho, an experienced building surveyor, to share his experience in revitalization and conversion of the Bethanie into the current HKAPA premises.

The delegates took the opportunity to learn and appreciate the achievements on heritage preservation and protection in Luoyang. We visited the new development district in Zhengzhou "鄭州新區" as well. The townscape and space planning of this new development area did impress us a lot.

BSD Secondary School Scholarship
I would like to report the current status of a secondary school scholarship scheme which BSD have planned and promoted for months with an aim to attract the new generation to engage in our profession. Yet, we have received 6 nominations for the scholarship and a prudent scrutiny on the nominations would be conducted very soon.

CPD events
"A Turning Point of Green Building Movement in HK: PNAP APP-152 SBD" was held on 20 May 2011 which we received full-house subscriptions of over 200 attendance. Our guest speakers Mr K S Wong and Professor Barnabas H K Chung delivered a hot and updated topic on sustainable building design. In addition, Professor Chung provided the floor with criticized insights on the implementation of the design guidelines issued by the government. I believe that the attendants have gained invaluable knowledge from the speech and through the discussion on that evening.

Another CPD "Minor Works Control System: Past, Current & Future" was held on 30 May 2011. Our guest speaker Mr Colin Cheng is the founding staff of the Minor Works Unit of Buildings Department. He shared with us the history of the minor works system, the current situations and its future development with his personal experience. Attendants should have better understanding on this newly implemented building control system.