Gatehouse restoration approved as gov’t prepares old-building survey

The Cultural Heritage Committee held its fourth plenary meeting of the year Thursday, approving restoration works for the gatehouse at Pátio das Palmas, Calçada de S. Francisco, known as the Leung Wing Hing Joss Sticks Factory.

This comes as the government plans to begin a citywide baseline survey of old-district buildings in the fourth quarter of this year, with 292 buildings around Rua de Nossa Senhora do Amparo and its surrounding streets selected as the first pilot area.

In a briefing to the media, committee acting president and Cultural Affairs Bureau president Deland Leong said the committee was consulted on the historical building maintenance support scheme, covering restoration works for the gatehouse at Pátio das Palmas, and members unanimously agreed.

She noted that the structure sits within the core of the historic city center, is public property with no owner, and currently suffers from wall cracks, missing components and overgrown vegetation, requiring repair. Built between 1875 and 1908, the gateway bears witness to the history of incense-making, one of Macau’s four major traditional handicrafts, and holds both architectural and historical value.

Its restoration will help improve the streetscape of the historic district. The preliminary restoration budget is estimated at about MOP200,000, and the Cultural Affairs Bureau will next draw up a restoration plan and work timetable, aiming to start work within the year.

Asked by reporters whether there were revitalization plans, Leong said the gateways of these alleyway structures mostly remain on public land, but the areas behind them are largely under private ownership.

After restoring the Pátio das Palmas gatehouse, the bureau will consider adding information facilities such as explanatory plaques nearby so residents and visitors can learn about the gateway and its history.

As for the historical building maintenance subsidy scheme, after the committee approved seven applications in this round, owners may hire professional organizations to draw up restoration plans in accordance with the regulations and submit them to the fund for professional assessment.

According to Leong, her bureau and the fund will conduct proactive inspections to encourage owners of buildings in need of repair to make good use of the policy, protect their properties, and at the same time strengthen the capacity of restoration teams to handle more similar projects.

292 old buildings to be surveyed from Q4

The government plans to gradually launch a citywide baseline survey of old-district buildings in the fourth quarter of this year, with the first phase covering Rua de Nossa Senhora do Amparo, Rua da Tercena, Rua das Estalagens and Rua do Infante as a pilot area, involving 292 buildings and focusing on those that are 40 years old or older.

The director of the Land and Urban Construction Bureau, Lai Weng Leong, said the baseline survey was planned for the Rua de Nossa Senhora do Amparo area because of the concentration of old buildings there and to tie in with the beautification and revitalization project for the Ruins of St. Paul’s area.

The survey will record building conditions, examine disrepair and structural safety risks, and gather residents’ and businesses’ concerns, with outreach to neighborhoods through associations beforehand. Given the large number of old buildings in Macau and limited government manpower, professional engineers will be outsourced, focusing on buildings that are 40 years old or older and gradually extending district by district to all old districts.

Lai also said the government is pragmatically and systematically advancing the survey of old-district buildings, supporting “three-nil” buildings in repairing water and electricity facilities, carrying out protective renewal and revitalization around the Ruins of St. Paul’s, studying priority urban renewal areas, promoting the repair, renovation and overall renewal of old buildings, and cracking down on illegal works to eliminate community safety hazards. At the same time, it will make good use of land reserves to provide more leisure, recreational and transport space in old districts.

The government is also reviewing and plans to amend the legal regime for interim housing and replacement housing in urban renewal and the urban renewal legal regime, while conducting a new round of premium review to provide greater incentives for urban renewal.

Responding to a concern about urban renewal in Iao Hon and fears that redevelopment would raise population density and worsen traffic and public space pressures in the northern district, with calls for more parking spaces, Lai said old-district redevelopment follows the principle of maintaining or even reducing existing development and will not increase population density. Where conditions permit, plot ratios and building heights will be moderately relaxed to free up space for parking and commercial units and improve residents’ travel. For buildings not yet redeveloped, the bureau will continue to advance water and electricity facility repairs.