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1. Vision to carve up Tamar into five areas presented

2. Harbour activists unveil own plan for Tamar HQ

1. Vision to carve up Tamar into five areas presented
Leslie Kwoh, The Standard 4 May 2006

In a last-ditch effort to influence lawmakers against issuing a "blank check" for the proposed government headquarters at Tamar, a group of activists has hatched an alternative vision for the site and its surrounding areas that involve simple adjustments while conforming with the administration's current plans.

According to the alternative plans - unveiled Wednesday by Civic Exchange, Designing Hong Kong Harbour District and World Wildlife Fund - the 2.2-hectare government complex at Tamar will be broken up into five units, creating more human-scale pedestrian spaces between buildings.

An area for protesters called " Democracy Square " will be situated at the center of the site.

The group said these changes will not increase the cost of the HK$5 billion project, and will lend a more "vibrant" feel to the area compared with the administration's current plans, which place the headquarters on one half of the site and a public square on the other.

The plan retains the controversial dimensions for the headquarters - a 120,400-square-meter gross floor area and a 20-story building. The Central- Wanchai bypass will also be kept, and no changes will be made to the water- edge of the Central reclamation area.

The decision to go along with the so- called "government specifications" is not a sign of agreement but rather recognition of "the political reality," Designing Hong Kong Harbour District convenor Paul Zimmerman said.

In order to win over the two largest political parti es - the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong and the Liberal Party - Zimmerman said it was necessary to "include whatever the government wants because the parties have made the political decision to support the government."

Only after lawmakers back the alternative vision can there be negotiation.

"We are not selling out, we are just trying to get in the door. And to do that, we have to first make sure to conform with the government," he said.

A previous alternative plan, called " Central Park ," was launched by Civic Exchange in January but failed to win support.

"A lot of people said it needed more developments," said Civic Exchange chief executive officer Christine Loh Kung-wai. "But we think any of these plans is a better plan than the government's."

Zimmerman said he has presented the alternative plan to the DAB, the Liberal Party and the Civic Party, as well as government officials. A meeting with the Democratic Party is in the works.

"Lawmakers were all very enthusiastic when they saw this. But they're under extreme pressure from the chief executive," he said.

With regard to the rest of the Central waterfront, the alternative plan recommends the area between the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre and the Central ferry piers be studded with low-density, one- to three-story commercial buildings.

The proposed "groundscraper" - the long, two-story pedestrian deck connecting Statue Square and the Star Ferry - will be cut from the plan after it received widespread criticism from the public, including members of the Harbour Business Forum.

Instead, a ground-level plaza, complete with greenery and public furniture, will be built in its place.

In addition, the proposed trunk road along the shoreline will be made into a tree-lined "ocean boulevard" with traffic lights and pedestrian crossings at street level.

Any traffic congestion issues should be resolved by immediately extending the tram and MTR lines to the northern shoreline, the alternative plan said.

This is really a planning issue, but it has become a political issue because the government is rushing to get funding," Loh said. "If it were seen as planning, we think all the political parties would be happy to have the chance to see what the options really are."

2. Harbour activists unveil own plan for Tamar HQ
CHLOE LAI , SCMP 4 May 2006

Harbour activists yesterday unveiled a counterproposal to the government's plan for building its headquarters at Tamar.

They propose that the future government headquarters should be no more than 20 storeys high and call for a "democracy square" in the middle of Tamar where protesters can hold demonstrations.

This plan, jointly presented by think-tank Civic Exchange and the Designing Hong Kong Harbour District, includes a proposal for breaking up four major pieces of commercial land along the Central waterfront into smaller plots for gardens between shops and offices.

"If the smaller government headquarters cannot accommodate all the civil servants they want to move to Tamar, the authorities can [accommodate them] at the current offices at Government Hill," said Designing Hong Kong Harbour District organiser Paul Zimmerman.

The government will conduct a review of development along the Central waterfront in July, but this will be limited to studying ways to reduce building density in commercial zones.

Civic Exchange chief executive Christine Loh Kung-wai said: "All the buildings are going to be low-rise. By making each plot smaller, there will be multiple ownership of land at the Central waterfront, instead of leaving land in the hands of the biggest developers."

The activists will present their proposal at a public forum on Sunday at Caritas Community Centre in Caine Road , Mid-Levels. They will incorporate views gathered at the forum and produce a model of the site to visualise the plan.

They also hope to present their plan to the Legislative Council before the public accounts subcommittee recommends funding approval to the government's Tamar development at the end of this month.

"This is a planning issue, but the government turns it into a political issue and asserts heavy pressure on the legislators to approve funding in a short period. Whatever happens to Central harbourfront is in the hands of the Legislative Council," said Ms Loh.

Meanwhile, the Civic Party said it would conduct a survey on Tamar through its newspaper, A45 , published today.

The party said it would include a questionnaire in the newspaper, in which members of the public will be asked for their views on the government's Tamar plan and whether they want a comprehensive review of development of the Central waterfront.

The public can also express their views on whether Government Hill should be sold for commercial development.

Also, the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong said it would launch its own proposals for the Kai Tak airport site.

DAB lawmaker Chan Kam-lam said his party still wanted the government to build its Kowloon headquarters at Kai Tak, through reclamation of the Kai Tak nullah.