1 Draft Quarry Bay Outline Zoning Plan amended
Hong Kong Governmentm 12 October 2007
The Town Planning Board today (October 12) announced amendments to the draft Quarry Bay Outline Zoning Plan (OZP).
The amendments involve the rezoning of the site of the Sai Wan Ho Offtake Station bounded by Lei King Road and Island Eastern Corridor from "Open Space" ("O") and 'Road' to "Government, Institution or Community", and an adjoining strip of land at the kerbside of the Island Eastern Corridor from "O" to 'Road'. These amendments are intended to reflect the existing station.
The draft Quarry Bay OZP No. S/H21/24 incorporating the amendments, is now available for public inspection during normal office hours at the Secretariat of the Board, the Planning Enquiry Counters at the North Point and Sha Tin Government Offices, the Hong Kong District Planning Office and the Eastern District Office.
Any person affected by the amendments may submit a written objection to the Secretary of the Town Planning Board on or before November 2.
Copies of the draft Quarry Bay OZP are available for sale at the Map Publications Centres in North Point and Yau Ma Tei. The electronic version of the plan can be seen on the Town Planning Board's website at http://www.info.gov.hk/tpb.
2 Tsang vows to press ahead with heritage protection
Staff reporter, SCMP 15 October 2007
Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen has pledged to press ahead with a new model of heritage preservation that will not only help Hong Kong protect its historical buildings but also make the buildings "living history" that can add to the quality of life.
Elaborating on his ideas on heritage conservation in Radio Television Hong Kong's Letter to Hong Kong program yesterday, Tsang said it would be necessary to involve parties other than the government when it comes to heritage conservation.
"Protecting heritage should not only involve the government - we want NGOs [nongovernment organizations], charitable organizations, individuals and the business community all to play a part," he said.
An example of the new approach, he said, is the Central Police Station compound.
Describing the Central Police Station project as a major revitalization work, Tsang said the Hong Kong Jockey Club's participation will turn the heritage cluster into a "vibrant, iconic, cultural landmark."
He added: "The Hong Kong Jockey Club, in its usual public spirit and innovation, has come up with such a proposal with a pledged donation of HK$1.8 billion. We have accepted this in principle and will engage the public in its design over the next six months.
"I'm sure historic buildings like Mei Ho House, which is in a Hong Kong public housing estate, and Lui Seng Chun, will likely be given a new lease of life."
According to the Jockey Club's plan unveiled last week, the Central Police Station compound will become a heritage, arts, cultural and tourism hub. Two-thirds of the restored buildings within the compound will be reused for commercial purposes while the rest will be used for museum exhibition and performance. A centerpiece of the proposal is a scaffold-like tower with a 160-meter viewing deck above the existing upper courtyard, which will also house a 500-seat theater, auditorium, two art cinemas, gallery and exhibition space.
Tsang said the government has also initially identified seven buildings for revitalization and adaptive reuse and will soon call for expression of interests from concerned bodies to participate in their restoration. "These buildings could be transformed for use as exhibition galleries, hostels, academic institutions or community facilities."
3 Heritage building eyed for arbitration centre
Polly Hui, SCMP 15 October 2007
A leading dispute-resolution body has asked the government to set aside a heritage building in Central for an arbitration and mediation centre - saying the Court of Final Appeal building is an ideal candidate.
Christopher To Wing, secretary general of the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (HKIAC), said there was an urgent need to tackle the shortage of space for arbitration and mediation proceedings. He said he had had to turn away overseas companies which wanted to conduct arbitration at his 6,000 sq ft office since its 10 meeting rooms were fully booked until the end of the year.
Mr To hoped the issue would be high on the agenda of a working group on mediation unveiled by Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen in his policy address. The cross-sector group, headed by Secretary of Justice Wong Yan-lung, has been told to "map out plans to employ mediation more extensively and effectively in handling higher-end commercial disputes and relatively small-scale local disputes". The address also reiterated the government's pledge to develop Hong Kong into an AsiaPacific arbitration centre.
The independent and selffinanced HKIAC, set up in 1985 to promote and support alternative dispute resolution, is hidden away in an office borrowed from the government in Two Exchange Square. While recognising the government's increasing support for its work, the centre believed it would have more appeal if it was housed in a building which people could identify it with.
"Why do tourists come to Hong Kong? Because we have Ocean Park, Disneyland and other tourist attractions. In order to attract people to use our services in Hong Kong, there must be some kind of building saying, `This is the authority for arbitration'," Mr To said.
He said the building must be located near five-star hotels in Central for the convenience of overseas clients, many of whom were CEOs of large international corporations.
The current Court of Final Appeal building would be a good choice because of its reasonable size and its symbolic proximity to HSBC, Mr To said. Also known as the former French mission building, the structure was built in neo-classical style in 1917 and is a declared monument. The architectural icon was needed to change the mindset of Hong Kong people, who tended to believe they could only get justice in "a court where everybody wears wigs", he said.
Plans are under way for the Court of Final Appeal to be moved to the Legislative Council building - home of the former Supreme Court until 1985 - after the lawmaking body is given a new home on the Tamar site.
Hong Kong ranks fourth behind the mainland, the US and Europe in arbitration caseload.
4 Greens want new rules to avoid 'wall effect' at Aberdeen site
Ng Kang-chung, SCMP 15 October 2007
Ho Ka-po of Green Sense says the regulations are too loose.
A group of green activists has demanded new restrictions be placed on the future development of an Aberdeen site to be auctioned today, in an attempt to curb a possible "wall effect" blocking air flow in the area if high-rise buildings are allowed.
Green Sense said yesterday it had applied to the Town Planning Board to take a fresh look at the zoning of the site in Welfare Road, which has an area of about 6,403 square metres.
The site is designated for non-industrial purposes, the government says.
The green group's project manager, Ho Ka-po, said yesterday they had asked the board to put additional restrictions on the development of the site.
Ms Ho said the land sale particulars had been written too loosely, allowing developments with a plot ratio of up to 10.
Plot ratio of a site is the ratio of the gross floor area of buildings to the site area. A higher plot ratio could mean that taller buildings are allowed.
"The government should impose height limits," said Ms Ho, who added they wanted the plot ratio to be capped at 6.5 for residential buildings and 0.5 for non-residential developments on the site.
"To avoid the wall effect, we think the buildings to be erected there should also be at least 15 metres apart from one another so that air flow will not be blocked."
A site in Cheung Sha on Lantau Island, comprising 16,587 square metres and designated for private residential purposes, is also being auctioned today.
Ms Ho said the sale of the Cheung Sha site was absurd because trees had to be felled to make way for developments.
On several occasions in recent months, Green Sense has tried to block auctions of high-density sites by taking action at the last minute.
5 Sale of two sites may fetch up to HK$4.7b
Peggy Sito, SCMP 13 October 2007
Two public sites to be sold at a government auction on Monday could fetch a combined HK$3.6 billion to HK$4.7 billion, according to property consultants.
The focus in the auction hall next week will be on the larger plot on the block, a 68,922 square foot site at Welfare Road in Aberdeen, which property consultants say would be a barometer for the confidence in the housing sector by developers.
Equity analysts and property agents have been forecasting a bull run for Hong Kong housing, estimating capital gains of as much as 30 per cent by the end of next year.
They expect that with limited new land supply on Hong Kong island, the Welfare Road site would reap strong transaction price ranging from HK$3.4 billion to HK$4.4 billion or 36 per cent to 76 per cent above the opening bid of HK$2.5 billion.
All the major developers are expected to bid for the land.
A smaller, 178,542 sq ft site on Lantau Island's Cheung Sha village also going on the block on Monday is expected to be sold at HK$260 million to HK$280 million.
Savills Valuation and Professional Services managing director Charles Chan Chiu-kwok said the Aberdeen site could be converted into a Class C residential site by the provision of private roads, which means the plot ratio could be increased up to 10 from eight. The road would reduce the net developable area by about 10,000 sq ft, leaving the plot ratio at 8.56, and the total gross floor area would be 590,000 sq ft, he estimated.
According to the terms, a maximum of 750 residential units can be built and the height limit is 110 metres, or about 35 storeys.
Mr Chan expected the site to be sold at HK$4.4 billion or an accommodation value of HK$7,500 per square foot. "The average selling price could command between HK$9,000 to HK$10,000 per square foot upon completion," he said, noting that the site could provide excellent seaviews.
Alvin Lam, director of Midland Realty's surveying division, expected the site would be sold at HK$4 billion on the basis of gross floor area of 620,298 sq ft.
He said sales outcome would be strong after Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-keung unveiled the planned construction of a seven-kilometre line connecting southern HK Island with the MTR network in his policy address on Wednesday.
