1 Giant step for Kai Tak city center plan
Una So, The Standard 29 September 2007
The Kai Tak city center plan is up and running, with the amended outzoning plan getting the go-ahead from the Town Planning Board.
At the last board meeting in August, six amendments were added to the plan, such as lowering building heights at the city center and along the proposed nullah-turned river. The plan also incorporated a curved landscaped elevated walkway linking the new area with Kowloon City and San Po Kong.
Of the six further representations on Friday, only one supported the plan.
The MTRC and KCRC noted in their representation letter that the development sites should have higher plot ratios and said the proposed lowering of the development density would have an adverse financial impact on the planned Sha Tin to Central link.
A board spokesman said the lower plot ratio complemented the surroundings and that the issue had already been addressed at a board meeting in May.
In fact, the commercial area has been increased from 14.1 to 14.4 hectares while the residential area has been increased from 27.2 to 29 hectares.
The board will have talks with the MTRC and KCRC to suggest improvements to their designs.
Another proposal was made by lawmaker Chan Yuen-han and town planner Yu Lap-kay, who complained the view corridor under the plan was too narrow and would not allow a full view of Lion Rock.
Yu said the development only allowed one to see either the rock lion's head or tail. He proposed a new view corridor starting at the Metro Park in the runway area orienting towards Lion Rock, and the building heights on both sides to be lowered.
But district planning officer Heidi Chan Yuet-mei said a three-dimensional study was done in which the whole of Lion Rock could be seen from any point of the 50-meter corridor.
A residents' concern group from Kowloon City proposed the elevated walkway be further extended from Kai Tak to the existing older districts.
The plan will now be submitted to the Executive Council and the chief executive for approval.
2 Cheung Kong against heritage dig before demolishing walled village
Helen Wu, SCMP 29 September 2007
Nga Tsin Wai village dates back about 800 years.
Cheung Kong (Holdings) - owner of most of Kowloon's last walled village, which is scheduled for redevelopment - has denied government archaeologists permission to survey the site before demolition work begins.
The developer, chaired by Hong Kong's richest man Li Ka-shing, said the survey could be carried out once all residents had left Nga Tsin Wai and the houses had been demolished, the Development Bureau told the Legislative Council subcommittee on heritage conservation.
The village, in Wong Tai Sin, dates back 800 years.
Subcommittee chairwoman Choy So-yuk said Cheung Kong should allow the government access to the site to excavate it and see if any historical remains lie beneath the houses.
"Maybe they are afraid that the archaeological findings will be rich, and that this would affect its plan to redevelop the site," she said yesterday.
She urged the government to buy out the remaining land owners in Nga Tsin Wai as soon as possible and negotiate a land swap with Cheung Kong if significant archaeological finds were made.
It is believed two cannons are buried at the entrance to the village.
Kowloon East legislator Chan Yuen-han, who has been monitoring the project, said Cheung Kong's decision not to allow the excavation was a negotiating tactic. "It is known that Cheung Kong favours the new development proposal, which includes the building of four residential towers. It is a tactic to push the government to support the plan," she said.
The Urban Renewal Authority has unveiled plans to turn the village into a conservation park, with four blocks of flats elevated on 15-metre platforms to be built either side of the entrance. Most of the houses would be knocked down, but the Tin Hau temple, a gatehouse and a stone tablet would be preserved.
The subcommittee will discuss the site's redevelopment on Tuesday.
