[:zh]立法會二題：規管綠化工程[:en]LCQ2: Regulation of greening projects[:]

[:zh]以下是今日（六月十五日）在立法會會議上謝偉銓議員的提問和發展局局長陳茂波的答覆：

問題：
　　
上月二十日，香港城市大學陳大河綜合會堂整個面積逾一千平方米的綠化屋頂突然塌下。有專業人士指出，此類意外甚為罕見，在該屋頂上加鋪綠化植被令該屋頂負荷過重，可能是意外成因之一。該意外引起社會各界關注各類建築物綠化工程（包括綠化天台工程）的規管、維修保養及相關事宜。就此，政府可否告知本會：

（一）建築物的綠化設施／裝置（包括綠化天台）的建造、工程審批、監工、驗收、維修保養及環保等方面，主要由哪些政府部門負責及受哪些條例規管；過去三年，有否定期巡查已完成的綠化工程；若有，詳情為何，包括每年各部門負責巡查工作的人員數目、他們巡查的次數、巡查是否以抽樣方式進行，以及採取的跟進行動（包括發出的口頭及書面警告，以及提出檢控的個案宗數分別為何）；若沒有進行巡查，原因為何，以及會否進行巡查；有否就綠化設施／裝置的維修管理事宜，向業主及物業管理公司提供指引及作業備考；

（二）鑑於當局表示，對未建成及現有建築物的綠化工程（包括天台綠化工程）有不同的處理及安排，兩者在工程審批、監工、驗收和維修保養等方面有何不同、為何不同，以及當局會否檢討及修訂有關安排；及

（三）有否規定建築物綠化工程（包括天台綠化工程）必須在認可專業人士監管下進行及由他們驗收；若有規定，涉及哪些類別的專業人士，以及當中是否包括園境師；若沒有規定，原因為何？

答覆：

主席：

綠化建築物對改善環境生態、節省能源以至提升市民生活質素等多方面均帶來許多好處。因此，政府近年致力推動建築物綠化工作，包括屋頂綠化、垂直綠化、空中花園、平台種植等。綠化工作範圍廣泛，其形式、位置及規模差別可以很大。總體而言，在建築物進行綠化工作，只要有合適的設計和施工，加上妥善的維修保養，一般不會構成安全風險。

就問題的三個部分，我的回覆如下：

（一）政府對私人建築物的綠化工作有不同層次的規管，而規管以確保建築物安全為首要目標。若綠化工作只涉及擺放少量盆栽，一般不會構成結構風險。若綠化工作有一定規模，有關業主便應就屋頂承載力等範疇徵詢認可建築專業人士的意見。屋宇署認可的專業人士具備專業知識，若綠化工作涉及建築工程，他們應因應工程的位置、性質及規模，就是否需就工程向屋宇署申請許可向業主提供意見。如屬需屋宇署審批的工程，屋宇署會按《建築物條例》對工程進行評估，確認工程安全方會批准工程進行。

現時全港有超過四萬幢私人建築物，而私人建築物的綠化工作的性質和規模亦不盡相同，所以屋宇署沒有特別針對建築物的綠化工作進行巡查。不過，因應上月城市大學綠化天台倒塌事件，屋宇署已透過不同途徑了解市面上是否有未經建築專業人士評估而進行的大面積綠化屋頂工作，如有發現會立即跟進。在屋宇署日常處理公眾有關違例建築工程及其他事宜的舉報，以及在進行大規模行動時，如發現有屬於違例建築工程的建築物綠化工作，亦會作出適當跟進。但我必須指出，私人樓宇的業主有責任適時為其物業，包括綠化設施，進行檢驗及維修，以確保其安全。如業主有任何疑問，應徵詢專業意見。

在指引方面，發展局自二○一○年成立綠化、園境及樹木管理組後，已就各項綠化工作制訂標準及指引，當中特別就學校進行屋頂綠化列明校方須考慮及諮詢專業人士的事宜。此外，民政事務局根據《建築物管理條例》發出的《大廈管理及維修工作守則》，亦載列了業主立案法團及其他大廈管理組織應注意的事項，當中有章節涵蓋維修保養天台或平台事宜，例如處理天台積水、確保天台防水、避免天台負荷過重或不當使用等。因應上月城市大學綠化天台倒塌事件，屋宇署已向學校發出須知，就學校設置的綠化天台提供建議，以確保校舍及佔用人的安全。屋宇署亦已向建築業界發出通函，臚列並提醒他們須留意《建築物條例》下適用於屋頂綠化的現有條文。該通告函件亦特別提醒有關專業人士及承建商，他們有責任把在設計和建造期間會採取的行動、綠化工作對相關樓宇結構的影響、設施落成後應如何安全使用及妥善保養等資訊告知相關樓宇業主。為進一步提高公眾對相關事宜的認識，屋宇署正着手就本港樓宇常見的綠化工程，編製以業主及一般公眾人士為對象的指引。

此外，屋宇署及其他相關部門已安排與學校管理人員及相關持份者進行簡介會，並解答他們的疑問。如有需要，屋宇署樂意為其他相關業界，例如物業管理公司，簡介有關事宜。

（二）不論在興建樓宇時一併進行綠化，或是在樓宇落成後再進行綠化，在樓宇安全方面的規管在原則上並無不同。如屬須屋宇署審批的工程，屋宇署會按《建築物條例》對工程進行評估，確認工程安全方會批准工程進行。不論何時進行建築物綠化工作，只要有合適的設計和施工，加上妥善的維修保養，一般不會構成結構安全風險。

（三）就受《建築物條例》監管的建築工程，不論是否綠化工程，業主須根據現行《建築物條例》的規定，在適用情況下委任註冊專業人士及承建商進行。概括而言，若有關工程屬第II類別或第III類別的小型工程，即複雜程度屬中等或較低的小型工程，業主需委任註冊承建商進行。若屬第I類別的小型工程，即複雜程度較高的小型工程，以及須經屋宇署事先審批方可進行的工程，除委任註冊承建商外，業主還須委任認可人士負責制訂向屋宇署呈交的圖則、監工及驗收等工作。若工程涉及結構設計，業主更須就工程委任註冊結構工程師，負責制訂和呈交結構圖則及計算資料予屋宇署審批的相關工作。此外，工程認可人士應按工程實際需要，徵詢其他相關專業人士（包括園境師）的意見。 完

完

２０１６年6月15日（星期三）
香港時間１5時23分[:en]LCQ2: Regulation of greening projects
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Following is a question by the Hon Tony Tse and a reply by the Secretary for Development, Mr Paul Chan, in the Legislative Council today (June 15):

Question:

On the 20th of last month, the entire green roof of the Chan Tai Ho Multi-purpose Hall, covering an area of more than 1 000 square metres, at the City University of Hong Kong collapsed abruptly. Some professionals have pointed out that accidents of such type are rare, and the roof being covered by green vegetation and thus being overloaded may be one of the causes of the accident. The accident has aroused concerns among various sectors of the community about the regulation and maintenance of various types of greening projects (including rooftop greening projects) for buildings and related matters. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) of the main government departments which are responsible for the regulation of the construction, vetting and approval of works, works supervision, acceptance, maintenance and environmental protection-related issues, etc., of greening facilities/features (including green rooftops) for buildings, and the main ordinances regulating such matters; whether it conducted inspections of completed greening projects regularly in the past three years; if it did, of the details, including the number of staff members from various departments tasked with the inspection work, the number of inspections conducted by them, whether such inspections were carried out on a sampling basis, and the follow-up actions taken (including the respective numbers of verbal and written warnings issued and the number of cases in which prosecutions were instituted) each year; if it did not conduct any inspection, the reasons for that and whether it will do so; whether it has provided guidelines and practice notes on the maintenance and management of greening facilities/features for property owners and property management companies;

(2) as the authorities have indicated that there are different ways of handling and different arrangements for greening projects (including rooftop greening projects) for uncompleted and existing buildings, of the differences between the two in regard to vetting and approval of works, works supervision, acceptance and maintenance, etc. as well as the reasons for such differences, and whether the authorities will review and revise the relevant arrangements; and

(3) whether there is a requirement that greening projects for buildings (including rooftop greening projects) must be carried out under the supervision and monitoring of authorised professionals, and the acceptance of related works must be done by them; if there is such a requirement, of the types of professionals involved and whether they include landscape architects; if there is no such requirement, the reasons for that?

Reply:

President,

Greening of buildings can bring many benefits on various aspects such as improving the environment and the ecology, saving energy, as well as enhancing people's quality of living. In view of all these benefits, the Government has been striving to promote greening of buildings, including roof greening, vertical greening, sky gardens, terrace planting, etc. Greening has a wide scope, and may be of very different forms, locations and scales. Generally speaking, greening of buildings should pose no risk to safety, as long as it was suitably designed and constructed, and there are proper repairs and maintenance.

My reply to the three parts of the question is as follows:

(1) With the paramount objective of ensuring building safety, the Government has in place different levels of regulatory control over the greening of private buildings. If the greening only involves placing of a few flower pots, it generally will not cause any structural risk. If the greening is of a substantial scale, the relevant owner should then consult authorised building professionals on matters such as loading of the building. The building professionals authorised by the Buildings Department possess professional expertise. They should advise the owners, where the greening involves building works, on the need for seeking the consent of the Buildings Department for the works taking into account their location, scope and scale. For works requiring its prior approval, the Department will assess the proposed works in accordance with the Buildings Ordinance, and will only give consent to its commencement upon being satisfied of the safety of the works.

There are currently over 40 000 private buildings in Hong Kong, of which greening may be of varying scope and scale. Therefore, the Buildings Department has not carried out inspections of the greening of buildings specifically. Nevertheless, in view of the greened roof collapse incident at the City University of Hong Kong last month, the Buildings Department has been ascertaining through various channels any roof greening of large area in the territory that might have been carried out without prior evaluation by building professionals. Immediate actions will be taken against any such case found. In the course of its day-to-day handling of public reports on unauthorised building works and other matters and when conducting large-scale operation, the Buildings Department will take appropriate follow-up actions if any greening facilities which are unauthorised building works come to its attention. But I must point out that owners of private buildings are responsible for the timely inspection and maintenance of their properties, including any of their greening facilities, to ensure their safety. They should consult professional advice if in doubt.

Since the establishment of its Greening, Landscape and Tree Management Section in 2010, the Development Bureau has been formulating standards and guidelines on various types of greening, and particularly in relation to matters which schools should consider and consult professionals on when carrying out roof greening. In addition, the Home Affairs Bureau has issued the Code of Practice on Building Management and Maintenance under the Building Management Ordinance to set out matters warranting the attention of owners' corporations and other building management bodies, including a chapter covering topics like roof/podium maintenance and repairs, e.g. dealing with water ponding, waterproofing, overloading or misuse of rooftops. In view of the greened roof collapse incident at the City University of Hong Kong last month, the Buildings Department has issued notes on the provision of green roofs in school buildings to ensure safety of the premises and their occupants. The Buildings Department has also issued a circular to the building industry, setting out and reminding practitioners of the existing provisions under the Buildings Ordinance applicable to roof greening. The circular particularly reminds the relevant professionals and contractors of their duties to inform building owners of the actions to be taken during the design and construction of the greening facilities, the impact of greening on the structure of the subject building, and how to safely operate and properly maintain the relevant facilities after commissioning. To enhance public knowledge of the relevant subject, the Buildings Department is drawing up a guide for property owners and the general public on the common greening works of buildings in Hong Kong.

Furthermore, the Buildings Department and other relevant departments have arranged briefings for school administrators and other stakeholders to address their enquiries. If necessary, the Buildings Department stands ready to brief other sectors concerned, such as property management companies, on the relevant matters.

(2) In principle, the same regulatory control with regard to building safety applies to greening irrespective of whether it was carried out during the construction or after the commissioning of the building. For works requiring its prior approval, the Buildings Department will assess the proposed works in accordance with the Buildings Ordinance, and will only give consent to its commencement upon being satisfied of the safety of the works. Greening of buildings, irrespective of when it was carried out, should pose no risk to structural safety, as long as it was suitably designed and constructed, and there are proper repairs and maintenance.

(3) For building works governed by the Buildings Ordinance, the property owners concerned must appoint registered professionals and contractors to carry out the works, irrespective of whether they are greening works or not, in accordance with the extant requirements under the Buildings Ordinance where applicable. Broadly speaking, if the relevant works fall under Class II or Class III Minor Works (i.e. those of moderate or relatively low complexity), owners are required to appoint registered contractors to arrange the works to be carried out. For Class I Minor Works (i.e. more complicated ones) and works that require prior approval from the Buildings Department, owners must also appoint an Authorized Person to be responsible for the preparation of building plans for submission to the Buildings Department and other relevant tasks such as supervision and testing. Where structural details are involved, the appointment of a registered structural engineer is required for the preparation and submission of foundation plans or calculations to the Buildings Department. Moreover, the Authorized Persons concerned should consult the advice of professionals from other related disciplines (such as landscape architects) having regard to the requirements of the actual works.

Ends/Wednesday, June 15, 2016
Issued at HKT 17:20[:]