A1

The applicant should be a non-profit-making organisation (“NPO”) with charitable status under section 88 of the Inland Revenue Ordinance (Cap. 112) (“charitable organisation”).  An NPO can partner with non-charitable organisations (“NCOs”) in submitting a joint application, with the NPO as the principal applicant and NCOs as the cooperating applicant(s).  Application in personal capacity will not be accepted.

To accommodate interested organisations that may not already possess the charitable status, NPOs that have formally submitted applications for charitable status to the Inland Revenue Department will also be allowed to apply but the principal applicant must obtain the charitable status within nine months after the application deadline.

A2

Yes.  Joint applications by more than one NPO and/or with NCOs are also welcome.  However, the applicant must specify a clear accountability arrangement, with an NPO of the joint application being identified as the principal applicant.

A3

The application form, the Guide to Application and the resource kits for historic buildings are available for download from the Development Bureau's heritage conservation website at (https://www.heritage.gov.hk/en/revitalisation-scheme/batch-vii-of-revitalisation-scheme/index.html).

A4

Yes.  However, the applicant has to duly take into account the resource demand for preparing the applications.  Please note that applicants wishing to submit applications for more than one historic building should complete one application form for each building.

A5

There is no limit on the number of applications to be submitted by an applicant / an organisation for each historic building.

A6

The applications will be assessed and examined by the Advisory Committee on Built Heritage Conservation (“Advisory Committee”) which comprises Government and non-Government experts, according to the following assessment criteria –

1. Reflection of historical value and significance under modern-day requirements;
2. Social value and social enterprise (“SE”) operation;
3. Financial viability; and
4. Management capability and other considerations.

Please refer to paragraph 3.2 of the Guide to Application for more details.

A7

Under the Revitalisation Scheme, the Government will provide a selected applicant with the following funding support:

1. one-off grant to cover the cost for major renovation to the building, in part or in full;
2. nominal rental for the historic building; and
3. one-off grant to meet the starting costs and operating deficits (if any) of the SEs for a maximum of the first two years of operation at a ceiling of $6 million, on the prerequisite that the revitalisation proposal is projected to become self-sustainable after this initial period.

Please refer to paragraph 4.1 of the Guide to Application for more details.

A8

The Revitalisation Scheme Secretariat will provide a one-stop service to assist selected applicants and, where necessary, refer their enquiries in specific areas (e.g. planning, compliance with the Buildings Ordinance (Cap. 123), etc.) to the appropriate departments.  However, the responsibilities to make statutory (or licensing if any) submissions still rest with the selected applicants.

A9

The Government will monitor the performance of the SE closely. In the event the SE is not operated to the satisfaction of the Government in accordance with the proposal originally agreed, the Government will request the relevant selected applicant to rectify the situation.  If the selected applicant fails to accede to the Government’s request or rectify the situation within a specified period, the Government will decide whether to terminate the tenancy agreement and take over the historic building.  Under such circumstance, no compensation will be payable to the selected applicant.

A10

Any demolition, additions, installation, alterations, repairs or any other works to the historic buildings require the prior written approval of the Government and must, in particular, comply with the statutory requirement for obtaining prior approval and consent from the Building Authority before carrying out the works.

A11

The Advisory Committee will assess the proposal as a whole, i.e. all relevant factors will be considered in order to reach a balanced view.  We will not pay undue emphasis on the financial angle.  But if everything is really equal, then the one that requires no or less Government grant may have an edge over the other.

A12

Resource kits containing the following information are prepared for each building under Batch VII of the Revitalisation Scheme:

1. introduction;
2. historical background and architectural merits;
3. site information;
4. building information;
5. vicinity and access;
6. conservation guidelines;
7. town planning issues;
8. land and / or tree preservation issues;
9. slope and / or structural maintenance;
10. technical compliance for possible uses; and
11. special requirements.

Applicants can download the resource kits from the website at (https://www.heritage.gov.hk/en/revitalisation-scheme/batch-vii-of-revitalisation-scheme/application-arrangements/index.html).

Apart from those basic structural and utility information covered in the resource kits, information containing more detailed architectural drawings and other technical reports of historic buildings can be obtained from the Revitalisation Scheme Secretariat.  For details, please refer to the website at (http://www.heritage.gov.hk/en/revitalisation-scheme/batch-vii-of-revitalisation-scheme/application-arrangements/architectural-drawings-request-form/index.html).

A13

The duration of a tenancy agreement is normally three years which will be renewable for another three years subject to satisfactory operation and provisions of the tenancy agreement. The Government will review the performance of the selected applicant and other factors prevailing at the time to decide whether to renew the Agreement.  The Government reserves the right not to renew the Agreement upon its expiry.

A14

To provide more flexibility to SEs, we allow the selected applicants to charge fees for the use of part of the buildings on a short-term basis, e.g. to an arts group for organising an exhibition, to a performance company for staging a performance or to an educational group for organising a course, etc.  However, no subletting or underletting of the historic buildings, in part or in whole, will be allowed.  It should be the main business of selected applicants to operate their SEs.

A15

Any modification, amendment or addition to the revitalisation proposals given in the applications of the selected applicants, including the change of project period, project scope, mode of operation, or major budget components shall require prior written approval of the Government.

A16

During the first round assessment, the Advisory Committee will assess the applications including the estimated costs submitted by the applicants with a view to ascertaining that they are reasonable and commensurate with the applicant's proposed operation of the revitalised building.  Whilst more detailed breakdown of the estimated costs is required to be submitted by the applicants for the second round assessment, it is expected that the estimates should not be substantially changed in the process unless there are strong justifications.

A17

The number is expected to be relatively small, ranging from one to a few.

A18

As stated in paragraph 2.7 of the Guide to Application, applicants may write to the Revitalisation Scheme Secretariat to withdraw their applications at any time before funding approval is sought from the Finance Committee of Legislative Council or Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau under delegated authority.

A19

The Revitalisation Scheme Secretariat will arrange guided tour(s) on designated dates to allow prospective applicants to visit the historic buildings after invitation for applications.  Workshop(s) to assist interested NPOs in preparing their applications will also be held. For details, please refer to the website at (http://www.heritage.gov.hk/en/revitalisation-scheme/batch-vii-of-revitalisation-scheme/guided-tour-and-workshop/index.html).

A20

The slope maintenance responsibility is mentioned in paragraph 6.2.2 of the Guide to Application.  As a general principle, the Government will shoulder the maintenance responsibility of slopes within the site boundary of the project which have not been disturbed by the renovation works carried out by the selected applicants.  For those slopes which have been disturbed by such works, it is the selected applicants’ responsibility to maintain the slopes.

A21

The resource kits have taken into account the existing building conditions and given detailed requirements on conservation of the buildings.  The required treatments as stated in the resource kits are the conditions that the future users of the buildings shall fully comply with whilst the recommended treatments are the conditions that the future users shall fulfill as far as practicable.  Please refer to Section VI of the individual resource kits for details.

A22

Architectural drawings of the Batch VII historic buildings (in PDF format) have already been included in the resource kits; drawings in AutoCAD format and other technical reports can also be obtained from the Revitalisation Scheme Secretariat.  For details, please refer to the website at (http://www.heritage.gov.hk/en/revitalisation-scheme/batch-vii-of-revitalisation-scheme/application-arrangements/architectural-drawings-request-form/index.html).

A23

Applicants are required to provide information for the first round submission to a level that can clearly illustrate their proposals in the four areas as stated in paragraph 3.2.1 of the Guide to Application.  No extension to the application form and no attachments, except documentary proof of registration information of the applicants and the supporting documents to Part C – Financial Viability and Part D – Management Capability and Other Considerations of Section III are accepted.  Application forms with other additional information and those exceeding 38 pages will be considered as non-conforming applications and will not be further processed.

On the technical front, applicants will be required to submit a conceptual plan comprising initial design proposal, schedule of accommodation and rough indication of cost.  Depending on their proposals, applicants can consider using simple drawings for illustration, in addition to text.

A24

In principle, revitalisation proposals for alterations and additions works to or adaptive re-use of historic buildings shall meet the current design and construction standards under the Buildings Ordinance.  The Buildings Department will consider the applications with sufficient justifications without compromising building safety and health standards based on the applications’ individual merits.

A25

After their applications have been selected by the Government, the selected applicants should engage consultants on the appropriate List of Consultants of the Architectural and Associated Consultants Selection Board as stipulated in paragraph 6.1.1 of the Guide to Application.  If a selected applicant does not require any funding support from the Government for the renovation works including the consultancy fees involved, the organisation is free to team up with any consultants as long as the requirements in paragraph 6.1.1 are complied with.  If Government funding support is required in part or full, the consultants for renovation works should be engaged through the two-envelope approach to safeguard proper use of public money. Consultants which have rendered their assistance/service to the selected applicants in preparing the submissions, as long as they are in the appropriate consultants' lists, can also participate in the bidding exercise.

A26

In general, applicants are expected not to revise their revitalisation proposals significantly in the second round assessment.  However, each case will be considered on its own merits and justifications.  The advice of the Advisory Committee will be sought as necessary.

A27

As long as the applicant fulfilling the requirements of paragraph 2.1 of the Guide to Application, it is eligible to apply under the Revitalisation Scheme.  There will not be any disparity in treatment between big and small, well established and newly formed organisations.  It is most important that an applicant can demonstrate to the Advisory Committee that it has the ability to take forward its proposal.  It should be noted that under the Revitalisation Scheme, there are buildings of various sizes.  Applicants can choose the one that befits its need and ability.

A28

Participation in the Revitalisation Scheme by an applicant fulfilling the requirements of paragraph 2.1 of the Guide to Application, with or without local experience in heritage conservation is equally welcome.  To ensure that we get the best possible revitalisaiton proposals for our historic buildings, all organisations will be assessed under the same set of assessment criteria.

A29

Applicants are required to bear all the consultancy fees, if any, incurred by them in preparing the technical aspect of their submissions in the application stage.  However, the Government will provide as much technical information as possible to relieve the workload of their consultants.  After the revitalisation proposal from an applicant has been selected, the Government will bear the consultancy fees incurred thereafter in part or full for implementation of the selected proposal.