1 Bulky buildings feared as result of height limits
Helen Wu, SCMP 22 May 2008

The plan to reintroduce height restrictions in Tsim Sha Tsui may prevent the development of very tall buildings while increasing the number of bulky ones, harbour activists have warned.

Harbourfront Enhancement Committee members also criticised the lack of public participation in deciding the restrictions.

The Town Planning Board announced the measure last month. It is part of the government's plan to set development controls in high-density neighbourhoods.

The restrictions in Tsim Sha Tsui were relaxed after Kai Tak airport closed in 1998.

A member of the harbour plan review subcommittee, Paul Zimmerman, said plot ratios should also be reviewed to control density.

"If the plot ratio remains when there is a reduction in height, big and flat buildings will be seen instead of the tall ones," he said.

Another member, Nicholas Brooke, described the plan as an arbitrary control introduced without a legitimate public consultation process.

But Heidi Chan Yuet-mei, a district planning officer with the Planning Department, said the existing plot ratios, reviewed in a study in 2003, were acceptable.

She said the lack of publicity surrounding the height restrictions was part of an effort to prevent developers rushing to file applications before the caps were imposed.

"It is always a headache for the government. If the plan is revealed beforehand, developers rush to get their designs approved," she said.

Last month, it was reported that Polytechnic University's HK$400 million "innovation tower" could be threatened by the height restrictions.

The height of the tower - to house a design school and museum - would exceed 70 metres. The new restriction proposed for the campus would be just 45 metres.