An independent lobby group is accusing the government of violating a Town Planning Board guideline in pushing ahead with its demolition plan for Government Hill in Central.
Under the revised plan Secretary for Development Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor announced last week that the west wing would make way for a 32-storey tower built under a build-operate-transfer (BOT) model, a public-private partnership scheme.
Lam said last week the site would remain a 'government, institution or community' zone, and that to reflect the semi-public nature of the future site, rezoning was unnecessary.
However a Town Planning Board guideline states that if a development is mostly for non-government use - with more than 50 per cent of the gross floor area, for example, allocated to commercial space - it may consider rezoning the site. This would mean the public would have the opportunity to lodge objections.
About 70 per cent of the office tower, with a gross floor area of 40,300 square metres, would be dedicated to commercial space, while the rest would have a government, institution or community use.
Albert Lai Kwong-tak, chairman of lobby group Professional Commons, said: 'Rezoning would require a three-stage consultation, which would take weeks. It seems to me officials want to avoid consultation and legal challenges.'