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1. Tamar activists denounce public briefing call off

2. LCQ9: Nga Tsin Wai Village redevelopment project

1. Tamar activists denounce public briefing call off
Leslie Kwoh, The Standard 7 June 2006

The sudden cancellation of the Harbourfront Enhancement Committee's quarterly public briefing, scheduled for today, has prompted some members to accuse the government of blindfolding the public to alternatives for the Tamar development site.

The committee was scheduled to meet this afternoon to view an alternative plan for the prime waterfront site but the meeting was suddenly called off Monday by Housing, Planning and Lands Bureau officials.

A private briefing on the government's vision for the Tamar site and surrounding areas was scheduled in its place.

Hardy Lok Kung-chin, representative for the Society for the Protection of the Harbour said: "If the government delays letting the public view the alternative plan, then I hope funding for the Tamar project will also be delayed."

A spokeswoman for Bureau said the briefing was cancelled to make way for the government's briefing.

She insisted that the scheduling change was in response to previous calls by members to see the government's plans for the Central waterfront "as soon as possible."

"So we tried to arrange for that, and the earliest possible date was June 7," the spokeswoman said.

The administration had decided to forego public participation in light of the limited space available at the City Hall's exhibition gallery, where the government's model is displayed.

The change in schedule was supported by the committee's chairmen - Lee Chack-fan, Leung Kong-yiu, Vincent Ng Wing-shun and Chan Wai- kwan - said the bureau. But the four chairmen presented a different version of the story.

Leung, chairman of the Wan Chai subcommittee, said: "I did not give my approval to cancel the regular briefing, and I wasn't involved in the decision to cancel it."

Ng, chairman of the Harbour Plan Review subcommittee, said he "was not aware of the cancellation of the [public] briefing until very lately."

Chan, chairman of the Southeast Kowloon subcommittee, said: "It was not wrong of the government to arrange a meeting for members to see [the government's] model, but it was wrong of the government to cancel the public briefing."

And Lee, the committee's main chairman, said the public briefing was canceled because the committee had not received any requests from the public to make presentations.

"We understand that some members of the public want to come as well, so we will arrange for a bigger venue," a government spokeswoman said.

A date has yet to be announced.

2. LCQ9: Nga Tsin Wai Village redevelopment project
Hong Kong Government, 7 June 2006

Following is a question by the Hon Chan Yuen-han and a written reply by the Secretary for Housing, Planning and Lands, Mr Michael Suen, in the Legislative Council today (June 7):

Question:

It has been reported that when meeting the residents of Nga Tsin Wai Village (NTW Village) in February this year, the Urban Renewal Authority (URA) undertook to announce the commencement of the redevelopment project of the NTW Village within three months, but no announcement in respect of the project has been made so far.  It has also been reported that as URA has to discuss with the developers the collaboration of the project, its commencement has to be delayed for a year.  In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether it knows:

(a)  when URA will announce the commencement of the redevelopment project of the NTW Village; and

(b)  whether URA will consult the villagers involved before deciding whether or not the project should be delayed, and provide them with rehousing and compensation first as originally planned?

Reply:

Madam President,

The Urban Renewal Authority (URA) is an independent statutory body established under the Urban Renewal Authority Ordinance.  It is tasked with the mission to implement urban renewal.  The Board of the URA is responsible for formulating and overseeing the policy and operation of the URA, including the timing for commencement of individual urban renewal projects, the implementation mode and the compensation policy.  

Regarding the two parts of the question, the information provided by the URA is as follows:

(a)  The Nga Tsin Wai Village project is one of the 25 urban renewal projects announced by the former Land Development Corporation.  The URA has all along accorded priority to the handling of this project.  At the end of last year, the Wong Tai Sin District Council, having considered the aspirations of the villagers of the Nga Tsin Wai Village , supported a comprehensive redevelopment of the Village with the preservation of the gate house, the embedded stone plaque and the Tin Hau Temple within the Village.  The URA is now in close dialogue with the residents in order to assist them in addressing their issues of concern.  At the same time, the URA is in discussion with the property owner who owns the majority of property interests within the project, with a view to exploring feasible options to implement the project.  The URA will announce the details of the project upon the completion of the preparation work.

(b)  The URA is now actively undertaking preparation work for the Nga Tsin Wai Village project.  The URA will continue to maintain close dialogue with the Wong Tai Sin District Council and the residents, and explain its current compensation and re-housing policy to the residents concerned.  Following previous practice, the URA will, upon commencement of a redevelopment project, provide appropriate compensation, re-housing and the necessary assistance to the affected residents.