Residents rally over delays to SoHo street works plan
Residents in SoHo took to the streets yesterday to protest over continued delays to the redevelopment of Staunton and Wing Lee streets as the government and a leading property developer fight over the use of a piece of land in the area.
Henderson Land is suing the Town Planning Board in a case that is expected to run for three days starting today.
The residents in the area slated for re-development seven years ago are worried the case will drag on even longer if the side that loses appeals.
'A lawsuit between government and businessmen could last for years and years,' said residents' representative Sam Yam Wai-sang. 'It is just like another Link Reit.'
The residents had pleaded with the government to settle the dispute out of court but officials said the court case meant they could not intervene.
The Town Planning Board decided to redevelop Staunton and Wing Lee streets in 1998. When the board finished the blueprint of the redevelopment last year, Henderson Land Development applied for a warrant to stop the redevelopment.
Henderson Land owns Chung Wo Lane, which occupies 19 per cent of the area in question.
