Involvement of private developers in the sustainable development of heritage sites

Hong Kong is one of the metropolises in Asia and the fast pace of city development has created pressure on heritage. In the past few years, the public have expressed rising concern over the conservation of historic buildings but due to limited public funding and the lack of comprehensive conservation policy, the government failed to conserve or revitalise many of these buildings and some were even demolished to make way for new development. This report thus attempts to review the background for private developers' involvement in the sustainable development of heritage sites in Hong Kong and derive a methodology for this involvement in the future. A case study on the former Marine Police Headquarter in Hong Kong was carried out, this development is the pilot scheme which the government engaged private developer in heritage conservation and heritage tourism development. It was found that the government should facilitate the sustainable development of heritage sites with a new Heritage Authority to act as a facilitator. In addition, private developers who are committed to heritage development projects should carry out their plan with a conservation perspective and maintain continuous communication with the general public. Lastly, to fully utilise skills and creativities of the private developer, the new Heritage Authority should work closely with them to ensure full cooperation in the sustainable development of heritage