bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

sponsorType

authorLocations

authors

paywallTypes

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

factSheets

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

copyrighted

customTimezone

liveContents

Polly Hui

A historic study hall in Ma Wan received only a lukewarm response when it was opened to potential operators for reuse.
Only four groups asked to visit the site yesterday.
This was dramatically down on about 40 visits arranged on the first day for each of the previous three historic buildings unveiled under the Development Bureau's 'Revitalising Historic Buildings through Partnership Scheme'.
Fong Yuen Study Hall,  a two- storey building erected  atr least 70 years ago as the only village school in  Tin Liu Tsuen,  is now open for revitalisation proposals from non-profit-making groups.
The bureau said the 140-square-metre building was suitable for use as a small library, study room or other community uses.
The building was deserted after the school closed in 2003 as improved transport allowed Ma Wan residents to switch to bigger schools.
'The interesting part is to find the blending in of Chinese and western architectural styles in a building constructed during the '20s and '30s in a tiny village like this,' said Fione Lo Sau-lai, curator of the heritage and museums division of the Leisure and Cultural Services Department.
She said the potential operator was required to preserve the staircase,  the arched side entrance, and the features on the balcony and pediment of the facade.
It is believed it was built in imitation of an urban shophouse, according to the bureau. There is a front garden  and a ruined brick hut on its left that housed the school kitchen. The site is  just off the Tsing Ma Bridge with some residential blocks nearby.
The bureau refused to speculate on why so few parties had shown an interest, saying it was only day one.
The revitalisation programme, first mentioned by Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen in his policy address in October, seeks to co-operate with NGOs  to maintain and operate historical buildings as part of a policy to revitalise places that might otherwise be left idle.
The government  provides  successful applicants  a one-off grant for renovation and further subsidies to meet starting costs and operating deficits.



Inspection of historic village study hall fails to inspire prospective operators