It was divided into Tung Tau (I) Estate (東頭(一)邨) and Tung Tau (II) Estate (東頭(二)邨). The sole remaining housing block of Tung Tau (I) Estate was subsequently demolished. Tung Tau (II) Estate has 20 blocks built during the redevelopment in the 1980s and the 1990s.
Background
In the 1960s, Tung Tau Estate was built as a resettlement estate which had a total of 23 blocks (21 Mark II and two Mark IV blocks).[1] Mark II blocks were rudimentary structures built to fulfil emergency housing needs, while the other two blocks were of the Old Slab typology. The 21 Mark II blocks of Tung Tau Estate housed approximately 49,200 people in 7,750 households, as well as around 586 shops.[2]
All 21 Mark II blocks were demolished to make way for 20 new blocks in the 1980s and the 1990s. In 2002, some of the flats on the estate (except Block 22) were sold to tenants through the Tenants Purchase Scheme Phase 5.[3]
The two remaining resettlement-era blocks, numbered 22 and 23, were redeveloped later. Block 23 was demolished in 2003. That site was redeveloped as a separate housing estate, Tung Wui Estate, composed of two housing blocks and a community centre. The new estate began accepting residents in 2012.[4][5]
Block 22, built in 1965 and housing 906 domestic flats, was subject to structural investigations by the Housing Department in 2007. The block required costly repairs, and it was decided to redevelop the site instead.[6][7][8] Block 22 was the sole remaining block of Tung Tau (I) Estate.[9] Po Yan Oblate Primary School, which was connected to Block 22 but in good structural condition, was retained.[6] The site of Block 22, like that of Block 23, has been incorporated into the new Tung Wui Estate, and a new housing block (Wui Chi House) has been built there.
According to the 2016 by-census, the estate had a population of 15,562. The median age was 51.4. Over 97 per cent of residents were of Chinese ethnicity. The dominant spoken language was Cantonese.[12]
Tung Tau constituency comprises the southern part of the estate, Tung Wui Estate, and some other neighbouring buildings. Since the 2019 election, it has been represented by Hiroko Wan Chi-chung of People Power.[13]
^Cheung, Chi Keung (August 1993). A Review of the Redevelopment of Public Housing Estates: A Case Study of Lower Wong Tai Sin Estate. The University of Hong Kong. p. 13.