Villagers vow to fight plan for new town

Villagers in the northern New Territories have pledged to fight a government proposal they say will turn their farmland into another satellite town packed with high-rise tower blocks, devouring yet more of the city's shrinking agricultural sector.

The plan - announced by former chief executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen in his 2007-08 policy address - involves clearing 787 hectares of rural land in Kwu Tung North, Fanling North and Ping Che to make way for public and private housing estates for more than 150,000 residents.

The government has also proposed paying property developers HK$40 billion for farmland that they bought previously from the villagers.

'The development plan looks amazing, but what benefit will it bring us?' asked a man in Shek Wu San Tsuen. 'It just gives developers a chance to make huge money.'

Residents and farmers from the four villages - a total of about 500 households - in Fanling North have formed an alliance to air their concerns to the government.

The group says that no village houses or farms should be demolished or relocated. Instead, villagers should be allowed to stay and tend their land, allowing city dwellers to have a taste of rural life during their holidays.

'Sustainable agricultural methods have been adopted in Ma Shi Po village. The villagers gather food waste from restaurants and turn it into fertiliser,' said Cho Kai-kai, a spokeswoman for the alliance.