| Joint task force to assess value of heritage site |
| Nishika Patel, The Standard 25 October 2007 |
A task force comprising both Hong Kong and mainland experts is to be formed to assess the historic value of the defaced King Yin Lei mansion, the development chief said yesterday. |
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| Priority on harbour in move to cut density Review will first focus on crammed districts |
| Olga Wong, SCMP 16 October 2007 |
The government will give priority to sites along the harbour in its upcoming review of building density, the development chief said yesterday. |
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| Land bids show developers are bullish |
| Yvonne Liu, SCMP 16 October 2007 |
Hong Kong's buoyant real estate market shows no signs of cooling, with two sites selling for more than double their opening bids at yesterday's land auction. |
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| Sale of two sites may fetch up to HK$4.7b |
| Peggy Sito, SCMP 13 October 2007 |
Two public sites to be sold at a government auction on Monday could fetch a combined HK$3.6 billion to HK$4.7 billion, according to property consultants. |
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| Greens want new rules to avoid 'wall effect' at Aberdeen site |
| Ng Kang-chung, SCMP 15 October 2007 |
A group of green activists has demanded new restrictions be placed on the future development of an Aberdeen site to be auctioned today, in an attempt to curb a possible "wall effect" blocking air flow in the area if high-rise buildings are allowed. |
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| Heritage building eyed for arbitration centre |
| Polly Hui, SCMP 15 October 2007 |
A leading dispute-resolution body has asked the government to set aside a heritage building in Central for an arbitration and mediation centre - saying the Court of Final Appeal building is an ideal candidate. |
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| Tsang vows to press ahead with heritage protection |
| Staff reporter, SCMP 15 October 2007 |
Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen has pledged to press ahead with a new model of heritage preservation that will not only help Hong Kong protect its historical buildings but also make the buildings "living history" that can add to the quality of life. |
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| Draft Quarry Bay Outline Zoning Plan amended |
| Hong Kong Governmentm 12 October 2007 |
The Town Planning Board today (October 12) announced amendments to the draft Quarry Bay Outline Zoning Plan (OZP). |
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| Tai O residents demand better amenities under facelift plans |
| Helen Wu, SCMP 5 October 2007 |
Tai O residents have urged the government to improve the area's transport and community facilities in favour of building tourist attractions under a planned facelift. |
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| Harbor reclamation plan challenged |
| Scarlett Chiang, The Standard 5 October 2007 |
The government's plan for a temporary land formation in the middle of Victoria Harbour is being challenged by a harbor protection group. |
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| Park plan for Tai O is wrong |
| Letter to the Editor, SCMP 2 October 2007 |
A scant two weeks after the government put a stop to the privately-engineered destruction of an urban heritage site, the Civil Engineering and Development Department has proposed a culturally destructive plan that intends to erase local heritage at Tai O. The department wishes to build another standardised park totally unconnected to the local landscape, under the guise of "A Facelift for Tai O". |
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| Why being rare was not enough for King Yin Lei |
| Una So, The Standard 2 October 2007 |
The 70-year-old King Yin Lei was highly regarded and was called a rare surviving Chinese Renaissance-style mansion with enough historical value to be declared a monument, according to an assessment by the Antiquities and Monuments Office late last year. |
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| Cheung Kong against heritage dig before demolishing walled village |
| Helen Wu, SCMP 29 September 2007 |
| Nga Tsin Wai village dates back about 800 years. |
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| Giant step for Kai Tak city center plan |
| Una So, The Standard 29 September 2007 |
The Kai Tak city center plan is up and running, with the amended outzoning plan getting the go-ahead from the Town Planning Board. |
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| Heritage conservation gets Tsang's seal of approval |
| STAFF REPORTER, The Standard, 28 September 2007 |
Hong Kong will continue its endeavors in heritage conservation by protecting the environment and upgrading support facilities to make North District more vibrant, Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen said. |
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| Roof garden to keep station cooler |
| Nickkita Lau, The Standard 27 September 2007 |
A HK$2 million roof garden at the old Tai Po Market railway station is being used to reduce the temperature inside the station by at least two degrees Celsius. |
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| Wan Chai Market facade may stay Plan to preserve part of Bauhaus structure |
| Helen Wu, SCMP 25 September 2007 |
The Urban Renewal Authority is looking into the possibility of preserving the facade of Wan Chai Market, according to a source close to the issue. |
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| Urban renewal plan review in offing |
| Una So, The Standard 25 September 2007 |
An overhaul of the urban renewal strategy is in sight, including the hoped-for "compensation first" for projects with rundown conditions like the Nga Tsin Wai village. |
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| 16 building plans approved in August |
The Buildings Department approved 16 building plans in August - nine on Hong Kong Island, two in Kowloon and five in the New Territories. |
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| Authority strives to save Wan Chai Market |
| Chester Yung and Martin Wong, SCMP 22 September 2007 |
The Urban Renewal Authority and a property developer are looking for ways to preserve Wan Chai Market. |
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| Wan Chai market may get reprieve as talks continue |
| UnaSo, SCMP 22 September 2007 |
The 70-year-old Wan Chai market building may get a reprieve. Newly appointed Urban Renewal Authority chairman Barry Cheung Chun-yuen said on Friday that talks with developers on the possible preservation of the historical building were still continuing. |
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| Canopy may yet be built at cultural hub |
| Ng Kang-chung, SCMP 21 September 2007 |
A controversial idea that forced the government to shelve its original plan for the West Kowloon reclamation district has been revived. |
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| Olga Wong, Helen Wu and Martin Wong, SCMP 21 September 2007 |
The secretary for development yesterday admitted the government missed its chance to spare the Chinese-style King Yin Lei mansion from wreckers because its officers were "not sensitive" to the significance of a written offer to save the building. |
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| Public will pay for higher wages, warn builders |
| Agnes Lam, SCMP 21 September 2007 |
Building costs will be pushed to a new high as more workers get higher pay after the bar benders' marathon strike, the Hong Kong Construction Association warned yesterday. |
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| Cable car boss defends team's performance Support for accused Skyrail worker |
| Dennis Eng and Anita Lam, SCMP 20 September 2007 |
The chairman of cable car operator Skyrail-ITM has rejected government accusations against one of its staff members and defended the way his team performed in running the Ngong Ping 360 attraction. |
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| Site to east of airport backed for bridge |
| Denise Hung, SCMP 20 September 2007 |
A 100-hectare reclamation project on Lantau Island, northeast of the airport, is favoured by the government for the landing point of the proposed Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau bridge. |
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| Heritage rows spark policy revamp |
| Una So, The Standard 20 September 2007 |
Recent hot words and protests over preservation of heritage sites have triggered government action - the Antiquities Advisory Board will increase its transparency and increase public participation in conservation policy. |
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| Skyrail-ITM chief vows to defend middle manager facing negligence counts |
| Carol Chung, The Standard 20 September 2007 |
Skyrail-ITM chief executive Ken Chapman yesterday pledged to defend an "innocent" middle manager blamed for an incident that sparked the termination of the company's operation contract. |
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| MTR Subsidiary to Manage Ngong Ping Cable Car |
| MTR Press Release, 18 September 2007 |
The MTR Corporation will set up a subsidiary company to manage and operate the Ngong Ping cable car system. |
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| Views sought on Recommendation Report on West Kowloon Cultural District |
| Hong Kong Government, 19 September 2007 |
| The following is issued on behalf of the Legislative Council Secretariat: |
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| Lantau cable car operator should get ax for crash, suggests report |
| Staff reporter, The Standard 18 September 2007 |
Skyrail-ITM - the Australian operator of the cable car system at Ngong Ping 360 - should be replaced to restore public confidence in the running of Hong Kong's newest tourist attraction, a report has proposed. |
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| MTR Subsidiary to Manage Ngong Ping Cable Car |
| MTR Press Release, 18 September 2007 |
The MTR Corporation will set up a subsidiary company to manage and operate the Ngong Ping cable car system. |
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| Lot in Tai Po sold for $4.55 billion |
| Hong Kong Government, 17 September 2007 |
The Lands Department this afternoon (September 17) held the fifth land auction of the 2007-2008 financial year, with a government lot in Tai Po selling for $4.55 billion. |
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| Training takes top billing in debate on culture hub |
| Una So, SCMP 17 September 2007 |
The time is right to map out long-term planning for arts and culture, a forum on the West Kowloon cultural district was told yesterday. |
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| Proposals for landing point revealed |
| Bonnie Chen, SCMP 17 September 2007 |
The government has suggested three landing points for the proposed Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau bridge, with two of them requiring reclamation work. |
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| Board hails move, seeks end to 'heritage crimes' |
| Una So, SCMP 15 September 2007 |
Although the sledgehammers at King Yin Lei on Stubbs Road have been silenced with the historic mansion being declared a provisional monument, heritage conservationists have called for a long-term program to prevent similar "heritage crimes" from being repeated. |
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| Democrats want hub funding broken up for better oversight |
| Scarlett Chiang, The Standard 15 September 2007 |
The Democratic Party has proposed that funding for the HK$19 billion needed for the West Kowloon cultural district be divided into phases to enable lawmakers to better monitor the project. |
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| Tower sold for HK$2b |
| Yvonne Liu, SCMP 14 September 2007 |
Oterprise Square office building in Tsim Sha Tsui, owned by the controlling shareholders of the Oriental Daily News, is being sold to a consortium for more than HK$2 billion, sources said. |
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| Government to declare historic mansion a monument |
| Regina Leung, SCMP 14 September 2007 |
The government will declare King Yin Lei mansion at 45 Stubbs Road a “proposed monument”, Secretary for Development Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said on Friday. |
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| Cultural sector to play role in hub plan |
| Staff reporter, The Standard 14 September 2007 |
The independent statutory West Kowloon Authority will include members of the public and the cultural sector, a senior government official said. |
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| Developers eye residential land |
| Helen Wu, SCMP 13 September 2007 |
Several developers have expressed interest in the residential land offered by the West Kowloon Cultural District, saying the low-density restriction would not affect its value. |
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| Heritage authorities accused of inaction |
| Raymond Li, SCMP 13 September 2007 |
The government was under fire yesterday for not protecting a rare Chinese-style mansion yesterday as more of its parts were removed. |
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| Denise Hung and Olga Wong, SCMP 13 September 2007 |
Residential and commercial developments will not be built on the waterfront of the West Kowloon Cultural District, although about 60 per cent of the land is set aside for property development. |
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| West Kowloon project to be self-sustainable |
| Staff reporters, SCMP 13 September 2007 |
The government would inject more money into developing arts and culture in Hong Kong to complement its plan to build a HK$19-billion cultural hub in West Kowloon. |
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| Developers gung-ho despite restrictions on height |
| Stephanie Tong, The Standard 13 September 2007 |
Hong Kong's famed harbor view is still too much an attraction for developers to resist despite the government reducing the height limit of residential development to 100 meters at the West Kowloon cultural district. |
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| Transcript of press conference on West Kowloon Cultural District project |
| Hong Kong Government, 12 September 2007 |
Following is the transcript (English portion) of the question-and-answer session at a press conference on the recommendation report of the Consultative Committee on the Core Arts and Cultural Facilities of the West Kowloon Cultural District today (September 12): |
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| Hong Kong Government, 12 September 2007 |
The Government today (September 12) released the recommendation report of the Consultative Committee (CC) on the Core Arts and Cultural Facilities of the West Kowloon Cultural District (WKCD) and started a three-month public engagement exercise to explain the recommendations and to solicit views from the public. |
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| Hang Seng Building to get HK$200m facelift |
| Yvonne Liu, SCMP 12 September 2007 |
Hang Seng Building in Central, owned by a consortium led by Morgan Stanley, will be given a HK$200 million facelift early next year in a bid to raise annual rental income by 170 per cent. |
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| Art hub panel advises setting up think tank and training schemes |
| Una So, The Standard 12 September 2007 |
The government should envision a holistic blueprint for the art hub, including a cultural think tank, the People's Panel on West Kowloon said yesterday. |
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| Heritage group steps up battle over rezoning of police station |
| Una So, The Standard 12 September 2007 |
Heritage Hong Kong has launched a judicial challenge against the Town Planning Board for holding a secret meeting during which it changed references that were part of an objection to the rezoning plan for the Central Police Station. |
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| Cultural district plans attacked over open space Plea by West Kowloon activists |
| Olga Wong, SCMP 11 September 2007 |
Activists monitoring the West Kowloon cultural district project will today urge the government to scrap plans for a residential development at the site and instead push for a "high-quality" open space. |
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| West Kowloon hub empowered to cover costs |
| Una So, The Standard 11 September 2007 |
The future West Kowloon cultural district authority will have the right to run commercial enterprises to pay for its own operational costs, sources revealed yesterday. |
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| Blueprint exposes delays on heritage |
| Olga Wong, SCMP 10 September 2007 |
A blueprint for a heritage conservation policy was drafted and endorsed by a government advisory body eight years ago, a government document has revealed. But it was largely ignored and historic buildings have since been demolished. |
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| Proposals for developing Yau Tong Bay thrown down |
| Una So and Victor Cheung, The Standard 8 September 2007 |
The Town Planning Board has vetoed all three options for the HK$20 billion Yau Tong Bay development plan. |
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| Contractors may be forced to bargain |
| Yvonne Tsui, SCMP 6 September 2007 |
A pressure group yesterday launched legal action to compel contractors to resume daily wage talks with striking ironworkers. |
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| HK$25b limit set for revised arts hub plan |
| Denise Hung, SCMP 6 September 2007 |
| New proposals for West Kowloon project to be unveiled next week |
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| Most strike-hit construction sites are back in action |
| Anita Lam and Denise Hung, SCMP 30 August 2007 |
The number of construction sites seriously affected by the bar-benders' strike has dropped by nearly two-thirds over the past week, a government source said. |
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| Chi Cheung taking on developer's role |
| Yvonne Liu, SCMP 31 August 2007 |
Chinese Estates Holdings, a mid-tier developer controlled by Joseph Lau Luen-hung, is expected to inject eight mainland and Macau properties and development projects into Chi Cheung Investment, analysts said after shares in the companies were suspended yesterday. |
