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HOS freeze spawns release of residential units 2.
Skyscraper restriction to protect mountain views 3.
Mainland flats proposal rebuffed
1. HOS freeze spawns release of residential units
HA Chief, Mr Cheng said he had known of the HOS suspension last week before it
was announced and did not think committee members were being by-passed. But he
said some members were disappointed. Chief Secretary Donald Tsang Yam-kuen announced
on Monday without prior consultation with the authority that sales of more than
12,000 HOS flats would be frozen for 10 months in an attempt to boost the property
market. Attending an awards presentation at the Convention and Exhibition Centre
in Wan Chai, Mr. Cheng said: "I knew of the decision last week. Of course, any
sudden changes would disappoint some members who have already planned to implement
their policies, but now they need to be flexible with the changes. We need to
accept whatever changes are beneficial to Hong Kong's economy and the property
market," he said. In July, Mr Cheng rejected calls to scrap the scheme and said
sales of HOS flats would continue as there was a need for them among poorer families.
New policies on land allocation would be discussed in the coming months, he said.
"It's good to sort out whether a site should be granted to the HOS, public housing
estates or for private development," he said. [Source:
SCMP, 7 September 2001] 2.
Skyscraper restriction to protect mountain views
No more skyscrapers taller than 40 storeys will be allowed in Central if a series
of Planning Department proposals becomes law. New buildings in certain urban areas
on both sides of the harbour would be restricted to 40 storeys on the waterfront
and 60 storeys inland, according to the plan to protect what remains of the SAR's
mountain skyline. However, the department said that new super-skyscrapers could
be allowed on the southern tip of Kowloon. The proposals form part of a public
consultation document on urban design. The consultation period ends on September
30. There is no timetable for implementation.
The building height limits
were proposed to protect "viewing corridors" which provide views of mountain ridges,
including Victoria Peak and Mount Parker on Hong Kong side and Beacon Hill, Lion
Rock, Tsz Wan Shan and Kowloon Peak on the Kowloon side. The proposed high-rise
restricted areas include Central, parts of Wan Chai and Quarry Bay on Hong Kong
Island; and Southeast Kowloon new town, Mongkok, Lai Chi Kok and Kwun Tong on
the Kowloon side. Currently, when viewed from the Kowloon side, Hong Kong Island
ridge lines are broken by a number of skyscrapers such as the Bank of China Tower,
Cheung Kong Centre and Central Plaza.
The 88-storey Airport Railway Hong
Kong Station, currently under construction, will disrupt the view. Most of the
ridge line in Kowloon, when viewed from the Convention and Exhibition Centre in
Wan Chai, is also blocked by existing high-rises. Proposed buildings include the
Gateway III in Tsim Sha Tsui, the Mody Road Land Development Corporation project
and the 105-storey Airport Railway Kowloon Station. An area at the tip of southern
Kowloon has been reserved as a "high-rise node" in the planning document. The
Planning Department said several ways were studied to enforce the new limit. It
could either be done by law, or statutory rules on outline zoning plans for developers.
The Hong Kong Institute of Planners warned that height controls should not
block developers from projects for which they had already received approval. But
planner Richard Yu Lap-kee was outraged that the authorities were willing to tolerate
more skyscrapers in Kowloon, saying views of Lion Rock had already been limited.
"I could not comprehend the rationale of allowing more skyscrapers in Kowloon
where the situation is already catastrophic," he said. [Source:
SCMP, 7 September 2001] 3.
Mainland flats proposal rebuffed
The Government last night voiced its opposition to the Housing Society's proposal
to build flats on the mainland for Hong Kong people. Information Co-ordinator
Stephen Lam Sui-lung said the administration did not support the scheme because
the society was a public body. "The Housing Society is an organisation that provides
public housing for Hong Kong people," he said. "The Government does not support
any plan for it to engage in real estate development outside Hong Kong." Housing
Society chairman Timothy Chung Shui-ming, who is also an Executive Council member,
said on Wednesday that the housing body was studying the feasibility of building
flats on the mainland for Hong Kong people as it searched for a new role amid
declining demand for public housing. He said the society would only invest $1
billion, or five per cent of its $20 billion reserve, in mainland projects. Mr
Lam said the Government acknowledged that the Housing Society was an autonomous
body, but a government source last night questioned whether the society could
legally build flats outside Hong Kong. Under the Housing Society Incorporation
Ordinance, it is only authorised to invest in land and buildings in Hong Kong.
Ho Hei-wah, a member of the society, said it should concentrate on Hong Kong.
"There are other social problems such as cage homes and street-sleepers that the
Housing Society should deal with."
Mr Ho said Housing Bureau officials
were furious about the plan because it would further dampen the local property
market. The plan was revealed four days after the Government imposed a 10-month
sales freeze on more than 12,000 subsidised flats in a series of measures to boost
the ailing property market. The sale of two Housing Society projects in Tuen Mun
and Tseung Kwan O, with 1,600 flats, was also suspended. The mainland plan will
be discussed at a meeting of the Housing Society's Executive Committee on September
27. [Source:
SCMP, 7 September 2001]
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