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1. Ocean Park hotels proposal finds favor

2. Alarm as developer carves into heritage site

1. Ocean Park hotels proposal finds favor
Wendy Leung, The Standard 6 November 2006

Legislators have given the thumbs up for Ocean Park 's plan to call for tenders to build and operate hotels on its land.

Democrat Fred Li Wah-ming said, under the build-operate-transfer model, the theme park's HK$5.5 billion redevelopment plan, which calls for the construction of three hotels, would neither need to borrow money from the government or banks, nor require an admission fee.

"This is purely a business decision and I accept the proposed arrangement," Li said.

Ocean Park is conducting a feasibility study of the project, and a final decision is expected next year.

Chan Kam-lam of the Democratic Alliance for Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong said the plan does need to go through the Legislative Council's Finance Committee because the park does not intend to seek funding. "As long as the bidding process is highly transparent, there shouldn't be any problem."

Under the plan, the three hotels will have a total of more than 1,200 rooms and will be built and operated by developers for 20 to 30 years before turning them over to the park.

Liberal Party lawmaker Howard Young How-wah said since the HK$5.5 billion raised for the redevelopment would not cover the costs of the proposed hotels, it would allow the park to speed up their construction. He said the 1,200 hotel rooms to be created would help ease the demand for accommodation in the territory, especially during the peak tourist season.

The three hotels planned to be built are Ocean Hotel, to be located at the main entrance and offering 600 rooms; Fisherman's Wharf Hotel at the Tai Shue Wan entrance with 450 rooms; and Summit Hotel and Spa that will have 160 rooms.

2. Alarm as developer carves into heritage site
CHLOE LAI , SCMP 6 November 2006

The site of the former Marine Police Headquarters in 2002 when the renovation
contract was awarded. Photo: SCMP

The site of the former Marine Police Headquarters last week after the hill was dug
out to make way for a shopping plaza. Photo: David Wong

The shopping plaza, as envisaged in an artist's sketch of the project

The Cheung Kong vision includes putting some of the site's mature trees into giant
pots. Photo: David Wong

The plans for an underground mall mean using deep shoring on the buildings'
foundations. Photo: David Wong

Conservationists have asked officials to explain why Cheung Kong (Holdings) has been allowed to wipe out the original landscape at the former Marine Police headquarters site in Tsim Sha Tsui and transplant century-old trees into huge pots.

Academics and cultural experts say the work under way behind high walls at the heritage site is causing "irreversible damage" and creating "another Park Lane " - the string of shops that cut Kowloon Park off from Nathan Road .

Artist Anson Mak Hoi-san has made a video on the state of the site and plans to put it on website YouTube to raise public awareness. The 2-1/2-minute video compares the heritage site before the tender was awarded to its current state.

But the Li Ka-shing-controlled development giant insists the knoll on the site had to be removed to make way for a planned public piazza and the removal of the trees is temporary. This is despite the stated objectives of the project - to restore a colonial-era complex to an international standard to provide an exciting, economically viable development while preserving the setting and fabric of the historic buildings.

The developer is also required to limit intervention on the site to ensure that future heritage value is not diminished by inappropriate and irreversible changes.

The Tourism Commission awarded the tender to Cheung Kong (Holdings) in May 2003, giving it a 50-year grant for a price of HK$352.8 million. Cheung Kong said the plans had been approved by relevant government authorities.

But the chairwoman and founder of the Hong Kong Institute of Contemporary Culture, Ada Wong Ying-kay, was shocked that the setting of the site had been destroyed.

"If the hill was still there, people would have had no difficulty understanding why the place was chosen to house the Marine Police headquarters. Now the setting has been destroyed."

She said it was ridiculous that when the tender proposals were assessed, economics, tourism, and payment to the government outweighed conservation.

"It shouldn't be a Tourism Commission-led project. It is a conservation and cultural issue and should be handled by the Home Affairs Bureau," she said.

A member of the technical panel in charge of selecting the tender proposal said Cheung Kong's tender was not the best in terms of conservation value.

"We didn't choose Cheung Kong for the conservation and technical aspects. But it got the highest mark after taking into account the money it paid to the government," the panel member said.

Cheung Kong said the loss of some of the greenery was temporary as it would plant new trees.

"The large trees which have historical importance were preserved. The wooded area was cleared in order to meet government requirements for widening Canton Road and the overall development of the site," a company spokeswoman said.

"On completion of the project its contribution to the landscape and visual amenity of the district will be restored and enhanced." She said removal of the knoll would enable the creation of the piazza, "a space totally accessible to the public [that] connects the former Marine Police headquarters back into the physical and social fabric of Tsim Sha Tsui".

The company also said the proposals were approved under relevant statutory procedures.

Cheung Kong has until March 2008 to complete the project. But the firm's development proposal indicates it may be completed early next year.

A Tourism Commission spokeswoman said last week that its job was to ensure the project was finished on time and other issues were handled by other departments.

Conservancy Association director Ng Cho-nam said: "It is the best illustration of only seeing the trees but not the forest. The original landscape and the entire character of the site has been lost.

"In the past, there was a ramp road. You walked up the hill and you saw a forest. The setting forms an integral part of the historic site's value. Now there is only one big building, five trees and a few houses," said Dr Ng, an associate professor in the University of Hong Kong 's geography department.

"The damage is irreversible. I want to know why the government is allowing it to happen, and I hope it is not going to happen to the?ormer police headquarters in Central."

He said the transplanted trees would not die but they would not grow after being replanted.

The main building will become a heritage hotel. There will be food and beverage outlets and retail facilities under the plan for the site.

The programme director of the University of Hong Kong's architectural conservation programme, Lee Ho-yin, said the principle of adaptive reuse - in which old buildings are adapted for new uses while retaining their historic features - was common around the world.

"The setting and the environment are part of the heritage value of a place. While laws in Hong Kong protect historic buildings, they don't protect the site."

Dr Lee said the government should draw up a conservation policy to address the issue. In Singapore , he said, land price was set by the government and developers had to compete for projects based on technical and conservation criteria.

The Buildings Department said it had given consent to start site formation work in areas surrounding the historic buildings.

And the Lands Department said: "Having consulted the Architectural Services Department, the Planning Department and other relevant departments, [we] gave approval in September 2004 for tree felling, transplanting and also replanting of trees related to site preparation."

The property giant also applied to the Town Planning Board for planning permission in January 2004 and last November. A spokeswoman for the board said initial permission was granted in January 2004 and later changes were minor and in line with the spirit of the first approval. Board documents showed the changes were in the number of hotel rooms and adding one storey to the commercial podium.