Landlords of flats in older buildings on the eastern side of Hong Kong Island will be asked if they want their properties to be redeveloped, or just renovated, in a pilot scheme trying out a new bottom-up approach to urban regeneration.

The scheme covers some 250 blocks built more than 30 years ago in 24 hectares (59 acres) of land along Shau Kei Wan Road in Sai Wan Ho, according to the Urban Renewal Authority.

In a piece posted on his official blog on Sunday, the authority’s managing director Wai Chi-shing said letters would be sent to landlords in the area soon to invite them to join the exercise.

But there were no further details of the plan in the blog.

Apart from asking the owners about their views on tearing down their old blocks for redevelopment, the authority’s survey will, among other things, also look into the conditions of the blocks, whether there are subdivided flats, or whether owners’ corporations have been formed.

The Tai On Building in Sai Wan Ho.

Wai said the survey would form part of a new bottom-up approach to urban redevelopment, under which the authority would first ask local residents for their views.

He called the new approach a fine-tuned version of the so-called demand-led redevelopment model, which was in place between 2011 and 2016.

The model allowed owners to decide if they wanted the authority to redevelop their properties but because of the rigid criteria, only three of the 208 applications got the final go-ahead.

And the scale was too small to be effective in terms of land use, Wai said.

The number of private buildings that were constructed around 50 years ago has surged from 3,900 to 8,600 over the past decade.

Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said in the policy address she delivered earlier this month that “more effective policy measures to expedite the pace of redevelopment and renewal” were needed.

She asked the authority to step up urban renewal with “an innovative and district-based approach”.

Lam also said the government would explore ways to further lower the compulsory sale thresholds under the law to speed up redevelopment of older buildings. At present, the threshold is 80 per cent.

Vincent Ho Kui-yip, a former president of the Hong Kong Institute of Surveyors, said the Sai Wan Ho site identified by the URA had several advantages, including easy access to two MTR stations and a relatively high number of old buildings not attractive to developers.

“I think this is a good location to use as a stepping off point for this redevelopment approach,” Ho said.

The area sits next to the Sai Wan Ho MTR station, while the Shau Kei Wan station is not far away either. It is also relatively close to Tai Koo Shing and Chai Wan, where job opportunities are more numerous, making the area attractive to professionals.

Developers had already moved in 20 years ago and snapped up desirable lots, leaving a mixed bag of unattractive smaller sized plots, Ho said.

In contrast, the authority would be able to combine smaller plots for development, and with an area in the back alleys of the site that was less dense, create quite a large space for urban renewal.

The development potential of the Sai Wan Ho area was also considered to be higher, as the maximum area of developable space which can be built on a piece of land on Hong Kong Island was up to eight times, compared to just 7.5 times in Kowloon for domestic use.

“Another concern is the current high property prices and the time it takes to buy the units would drive up the future price of any new housing built,” Ho said.

“From an urban renewal perspective this plan is good, but in terms of improving housing supply, it might not be too helpful for ordinary families hoping to get onto the housing ladder.”