Neither did a plan to transform the YMCA Wu Kwai Sha Youth Village in Ma On Shan into a temporary home for the city's sporting elite require board scrutiny, the bureau said.

But Article 45 Concern Group legislator Alan Leong Kah-kit said the government should gauge the public's views on the issue anyway.

'It is totally against the open-government principle,' he said. 'I doubt the public would support hosting equestrian games here if they had a say.

'Equestrian is an exclusive sport. I'm sure the public prefers more football pitches and tennis courts and resources for the athletes.'

The Jockey Club has passed the plans to the Beijing Organising Committee for the Olympic Games, which will then seek approval from the IOC, the International Federation for Equestrian Sports, and the World Organisation for Animal Health.

The Legislative Council has already been denied a role in scrutinising funding of the equestrian events on the grounds that no public spending is involved.

Transformation of the Sports Institute will be funded by the Hong Kong Jockey Club, which will pay $800 million for construction costs, while the Beijing Olympic Committee will pay $50 million for the Ma On Shan project.

But Mr Leong said: 'Public expenditure is not just about dollars and cents.'

He said this case was very similar to the West Kowloon cultural project, for which public spending was not involved and so the Town Planning Board could not scrutinise the plans until a public outcry saw the decision reversed.

Town Planning Board permission is also not required because both sites are zoned for government, institutional or community use. Under such zoning, land may be used for recreational, sporting or cultural purposes.

Vincent Ng Wing-shun, vice-president of the Hong Kong Institute of Architects, said: 'There is nothing illegal with the arrangement, but it makes you feel unease.

'They should engage the public, even if merely for the sake of public relations. Why shy away from public scrutiny?'

The Home Affairs Bureau said Town Planning Board scrutiny was not needed because the construction work only involved improving existing facilities.

It also said the renovation work at the Sports Institute had no direct relationship with the public.

'We don't see why the public needs to be consulted. Hong Kong is not organising the equestrian event; we are just lending a venue to Beijing,' a spokeswoman said.

She said the public would only be affected to the extent that it would be unable to use the youth village while it was the athletes' temporary home. 'Hence we have briefed the relevant district councils - Sha Tin and Shamshuipo.'