1 Development limited to 12pc of border area. Preservation stressed in plans
Olga Wong, SCMP 14 May 2008

Development would be allowed on only about 12 per cent of the 2,400-hectare closed border area, according to concept plans revealed by the Planning Department yesterday.

Areas proposed for low-density development include the Lok Ma Chau Loop, Kong Nga Po and more than 20 small villages.

Natural and historic landscapes, comprising more than 80 per cent of the border area, will be protected by an outline zoning plan, expected to be completed before the border area is opened up in 2010.

But few details have been given on how villagers in the area will be involved in the new development.

A three-month public consultation will be launched on Friday on the plans, which will be sent to the Town Planning Board the same day. Based on the public's comments, more detailed development will be drafted later in the year.

According to the consultation document, a new community will be built at Kong Nga Po to showcase green architecture and sustainable-living concepts.

The 10-hectare area, north of Sheung Shui, was dredged to provide mud for public works and the site has been filled.

The site was chosen for low-rise buildings because it was government-owned and easily accessible from Sheung Shui, a Planning Department source said.

Orderly small-house development would also be allowed at more than 20 villages in the border area to show respect to the development rights of villagers.

"Less sensitive areas outside the border, like Kwu Tung North and Fanling North, are more suitable for new-town developments of higher density," the source said, adding that higher education and high-value-added production activities could be proposed at the loop.

Land use of the loop will be studied separately by the end of the year.

Apart from limiting new development, proposals have also been made to protect areas of ecological value. The department has proposed a country park at Robin's Nest, a large piece of woodland connecting Wutongshan National Forest Park in Shenzhen and Pat Sin Leng Country Park in Hong Kong. The area is recognised as an ecological corridor between Hong Kong and the mainland.

While protecting Hong Kong's largest colonies of egrets at Ho Sheung Heung and an ecologically sensitive stream at Lin Ma Hang, villagers will be encouraged to enhance their wetlands and revitalise abandoned farmland for organic farming.

At Ma Tso Lung, an eco-lodge is proposed for the appreciation of natural features, fish ponds, wetlands and rural landscapes.

For those interested in cultural heritage, trails linking historic buildings and structures in old villages would also be available at Ta Kwu Ling, Planning Department sources said. They added that incentives would be provided to non-governmental organisations for refurbishing vacant houses and disused schools for holiday camps, village-life experience centres and retirement villages.

The vice-president of the Hong Kong Institute of Planners, Kim Chan Kim-on, said the careful development approach proposed by the department would be appreciated by the community.

"The border areas should be treasured and stored as backup land," he said. "Lots of land outside the border area is underused and not well planned, and these sites should be developed first."

 

2 Heritage zone plan questioned
Helen Wu , SCMP 14 May 2008

The government's blueprint for the closed border area includes a zone that preserves natural and heritage treasures, balanced by low-density residential development. But the lack of provisional development controls may easily tear the beautiful vision to pieces, environmentalists say.

Green groups worry that agricultural land and ponds in the area will be covered up to make way for development or be used for open storage after the area is released.

A village representative also said the absence of economic incentives would make it hard for the villagers to retain their heritage buildings purely for preservation's sake.

Alan Leung Sze-lun, of WWF Hong Kong, welcomed the government's proposal to protect sites with high ecological value and scientific interest, such as the Ho Sheung Heung egretry and Lin Ma Hang stream.

The egretry is one of Hong Kong's largest colonies of the waterbirds, while the Lin Ma Hang area is home to many forest birds and rare animals.

But Mr Leung said the fate of the farmland and ponds was solely in the hands of their owners without laws to prevent disturbance of the sites.

"It is not hard to imagine that the landscape of some agricultural land and ponds will be disturbed, just like the ones in the New Territories, if there is no regulation," he said.

Cheung Tin-sung, representative of San Uk Ling village in Ta Kwu Ling, said the "incentives" in the government proposal could be empty words as there were no details on how preservation would appeal to villagers economically.

 

3 Closed zone plan to include haven for nature lovers
Bonnie Chen, The Standard 14 May 2008

The government's green plan for the Frontier Closed Area envisages cycling routes between Lok Ma Chau and Lo Wu for people to appreciate its natural and rural landscape, fishponds and wetlands.

A government source said yesterday that only a small plot of land will be reserved for low-density residential development. Another strip near Lok Ma Chau will become a sustainable development corridor.

The source said only Kong Nga Po near Man Kam To will be developed into a new residential community with green architecture built with energy- saving materials.

Public consultation on the Planning Department's proposed "Land use planning for the closed area" begins on Friday and ends on August 8. The zone between Hong Kong and Shenzhen will open to the public in 2010.

The government wants to retain most of the area's characteristics by creating a belt for conservation, cultural heritage and sustainable uses.

The source said the 2,400-hectare site comprises agriculture and flat land (20 percent); hilly terrain and natural landscape (57 percent); wetlands (10 percent); village settlements (7 percent), cemeteries (4 percent), and boundary control points (2 percent).

A country park will be built in Robin's Nest between Pat Sin Leng Country Park in Hong Kong and Wutongshan National Forest Park in Shenzhen.

The government also proposes a hiking trail between Cheung Shan Monastery and Lin Ma Hang and another from Lok Ma Chau to Hoo Hok Wai.

An ecological link between Mai Po and Hoo Hok Wai to protect habitats for water birds has also been proposed.

With around 300 heritage sites in the area, including some buildings with Grade II historical status, the source said the government is planning to link several cultural heritage clusters together to create trails.

It will also provide incentives to nongovernment organizations to turn vacant houses and disused schools into holiday camps, village-life experience centers and retirement villages.