Old Tai O Police Station

The Old Tai O Police Station is visible on the hill, overlooking the pier.

The Old Tai O Police Station (舊大澳警署) is a former police station in Hong Kong. It is located on the small hill next to Tai O Ferry Pier,^[1] at the south-western tip of Tai O, which can be considered the very west part within Hong Kong.^[2]

History

The police station was built in 1902 with a main duty of combating piracy and smuggling prevalent in the neighbouring waters.^[2] The number of policemen stationed there increased from an initial six or seven to over 180 in 1983. The station was downgraded to a patrol post in 1996, and was left vacant in 2002.^[3]

Architecture

The police station consists of two 2-storey blocks: a main block and an outhouse block linked by a footbridge at first floor level. The outhouse block has Arts and Crafts architectural features.^[2]

Conservation

The Old Tai O Police Station has been listed as a Grade III historic building since 1988.^[4][1] In 2008, it was included among the seven buildings in Batch I of the Hong Kong Government's Revitalising Historic Buildings Through Partnership Scheme seeking adaptive reuse of government-owned historic buildings.^[5]

In the end, the government accepted the redevelopment proposal of the Hong Kong Heritage Conservation Foundation to convert the building into a boutique hotel. The HKHCF was initially set up under the name Nice Brilliant Limited in December 2007, and changed its name in March 2008. The HKHCF has close ties to Robert Ng's Sino Group, and two of his children sit on its board. Legislator Fernando Cheung accusing them of being a "one-man NGO" set up for business purposes rather than social service.^[6] The conversion project is planned for completion at the end of 2011, with an estimated cost of HK$64.9 million.^[7]

See also

• Robert Ng, for debated issues about the Hong Kong Heritage Conservation Foundation Ltd.
• Historic police station buildings in Hong Kong

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Revitalising Historic Buildings Through Partnership Scheme Old Tai O Police Station Resource Kit
2. ^ ^{a b c} Brief Information on Proposed Grade 2 Items, pp. 388-389
3. ^ Introduction to 1444 Historic Buildings, p. 392
4. ^ List of Graded Historic Buildings in Hong Kong (as at 18 September 2009)
5. ^ Conserve and Revitalise Hong Kong Heritage: Batch I of Revitalisation Scheme
6. ^ Ng, Joyce; Wong, Olga (2008-10-08), "Developer sets up NGO to bid for heritage site: Sino Land wants to turn Old Tai O Police Station into boutique hotel", South China Morning Post 
7. ^ Batch I of Revitalisation Scheme: Result of selection, Commissioner for Heritage's Office, Development Bureau, 2008-02-17, http://www.heritage.gov.hk/en/rhbtp/ProgressResult_Tai_O_Police_Station.htm, retrieved 2010-03-17 

External links

• Virtual visit of Old Tai O Police Station
• Project description by the Hong Kong Heritage Conservation Foundation Ltd.