Conservancy Association
The Heritage Society also mounted a campaign to stop the demolition of the building. The building was declared a monument by the Antiquities Advisory Board late in 1980. A petition was sent to the Executive Council. On 16 September 1980, the Executive Council decided not to endorse the AAB's recommendation that the Club building be preserved as a monument, citing "unjustified cost to the community" – the cost to taxpayers would be HK$500 million. The decision was denounced by conservationists as being influenced by "powerful vested interests" and against public opinion The Hong Kong Conservancy Association also appealed to the then Governor Murray MacLehose not to undervalue its cultural importance and not to allow the decision to be taken purely on economic grounds. "If even the Government appears to value nothing but money, Hong Kong's youth cannot be expected to have higher standards," said Dr. L. K. Ding, HKCA chairman.