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1. Cultural hub may face legal challenge

2. Challenge looming on arts hub decision

1. Cultural hub may face legal challenge
Cannix Yau , The Standard 7 October 2005

Democratic Party politicians warned Thursday the proposed HK$40 billion West Kowloon Cultural District is likely to suffer the same fate as the aborted Link REIT listing with an unnamed Hong Kong citizen preparing to take the government to court over the legality of the project.

Democratic Party politicians warned Thursday the proposed HK$40 billion West Kowloon Cultural District is likely to suffer the same fate as the aborted Link REIT listing with an unnamed Hong Kong citizen preparing to take the government to court over the legality of the project.

Democratic Party chief Lee Wing- tat said a local artist may seek a judicial review of the government's latest proposal, which party members claim still retains "in disguise" the much-criticized single-developer approach to the 40-hectare project.

Chief Secretary for Administration Rafael Hui, who took over the project from the former officer-in-charge, Chief Executive Donald Tsang, is scheduled to brief the Legislative Council today on the revised proposal after making sweeping changes.

The government now plans to cut in half the amount of land available to a single developer, allowing participation by multiple developers in the remaining land.

Under the new proposal, one of the three short-listed bidders will win sole- development rights for 50 years for 50 percent of the site, including the construction of the controversial glass canopy - expected to cover 52 percent of the cultural district - with the remaining land to be divided into various land slots for open tender to other developers.

The new conditions also stipulate that cultural facilities must take up 30 percent of the area, with residential blocks comprising 20 percent and the remaining 50 percent of the site to be used for commercial, recreational and tourism-related venues, government sources said.

Despite the sweeping changes, Lee criticized the government for retaining the single-developer approach.

"The single-developer approach is still there. There is no difference from the old one. The only difference is that the original mega single-developer approach is now scaled down into a smaller one, but it is still a single- developer approach.

"In the past, a big fat cat could have the whole big pie, but now some of the smaller cats can have a share of the smaller pie," Lee said.

He called on the government to establish a West Kowloon Authority that would be responsible for the development, operation and management of the project and would receive a certain percentage of the proceeds from the land sale.

"Only in this way can the project be subjected to the scrutiny of Legco. But under the government proposal, it does not need to go through Legco to press ahead with plans," he said.

"Give unto culture the things that are cultural, and give unto property the things that are property."

Party vice chairman Albert Ho, who is assisting the unnamed artist in launching the legal challenge, said: "I hope the project will not turn into another Link REIT case [with its listing aborted by a last-minute legal challenge from a Hong Kong citizen] just when the government is about to sign the contract with the successful bidder.

"It would make Hong Kong an international laughing stock."

Ho also alleged that the government may have violated planning procedures stipulated in the Town Planning Ordinance concerning the drafting of the project's outline zoning plan.

2. Challenge looming on arts hub decision
DENNIS ENG, SCMP 7 October 2005

A court challenge is expected to be launched today if the government insists on proceeding with its controversial West Kowloon Cultural District project using planning procedures that Democratic lawmakers believe are unlawful.

Chief Secretary Rafael Hui Si-yan will brief the Legislative Council today on the project and seek to address lawmakers' concerns.

The individual behind the judicial review is a local arts figure and is receiving legal advice from the Democratic Party. Democrats' vice-chairman Albert Ho Chun-yan declined to identify the person but warned that a "tailor-made" two-stage vetting process adopted by the Town Planning Board may violate existing legislation.

"The West Kowloon project will turn into another Link Reit fiasco and, this time, the government may not emerge the winner," he said.

The government was embarrassed in court after an elderly woman, Lo Sui-lan, foiled its plan to list public housing assets as the Link Reit in December. Hong Kong's highest court ruled in July in favour of the government.

The first stage of the cultural project's approval process involves the government selecting its preferred proposal and seeking board approval before a provisional agreement is signed with the successful bidder, according to the Town Planning Board.

Public views and objections will only be heard in the second stage when zoning amendments to the site, based on the preferred proposal, are published. A final agreement will only become effective once both stages are completed.

The board said earlier it had sought an independent legal opinion from a London Queen's Counsel affirming the two-stage planning approach was legally sound.

Mr Ho stressed that present practice only included the second part and the board may be violating the Town Planning Ordinance by adopting this two-stage process. He also questioned the validity of making the controversial canopy a prerequisite in any proposal.