Lau Veng Seng urges demolition of Estoril swimming pool

Legislative Assembly member Lau Veng Seng said yesterday that the government should demolish Hotel Estoril and the swimming pool to use the land for a new edifice. His voiced his opinion during a meeting of the Cultural Heritage Council that took place yesterday in the Tourism Activities Centre.
“Taking into account the activities the government wants to develop in the building, the area available is not large enough. Considering as well the restriction in terms of the height of the building to avoid blocking the view of the Guia Lighthouse the best solution is to erect a new building combining the area of the existing building and that of the swimming pool”, Lau Veng Seng said.
“In Macau, there are different opinions about the façade of the Estoril Hotel building. But our concern should also be how to best use the land available. While it is difficult to reutilise the swimming pool the area can be used to construct extra rooms and increase the area of the new building”, the Cultural Heritage Council member posited.
During the Policy Address for 2015, the Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture, Alexis Tam, announced that the Hotel Estoril building would be used to develop a youth recreational and art centre. In addition to rooms for studying, dancing and reading, the building is expected to house Macau Conservatory, which includes the schools of Theatre, Dance and Music.
Concerning the swimming pool area, the government, represented by the Chief of Office of the Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture, Lai Ieng Kit, is planning to change the type of water in it so that it can be opened to the public all year round. At the moment, due to the type of water used the swimming pool can only open during the bathing season.
During yesterday’s meeting of the Cultural Heritage Council one of the hot topics concerning this project was the reutilisation of the façade and structure of the building. While some said everything should be demolished, others consider the building to be part of the collective memory of Macau.
José Lau Chit Meng also said that the building should be demolished. He justified his opinion by the fact that the structure of the existing building is too old and degraded.