On their guard

Students and staff of the University of Science and Technology were alarmed recently when a large barge pulled into a scenic bay in Port Shelter and started unloading heavy earth-moving equipment. The beach at Pak Shui Wun and a snug valley fringed by waterfalls are just outside university property.

Inquiries show the academics had reason for concern. Although Planning Department officials are adamant it is zoned as a conservation area, they found that illegal land filling and excavation had been carried out. Departmental enforcement officers also found containers and a hut used as a toilet and kitchen. Although these are unauthorised developments under the Town Planning Ordinance, no action was taken against the owners of the site, Smart Gain Investment. The company has for years been planning to build a resort at Pak Shui Wun.

Instead, a warning letter was sent and a warning poster put up. The department now says it may take enforcement action.

Two years ago, Smart Gain asked for a rezoning of land it owns in Pak Shui Wun. It wanted the area to be zoned for comprehensive development, saying its sites would be used for residential, village-type development and recreation. This was refused, and Smart Gain's applications for a judicial review will be heard next month.

In 2001, Smart Gain paid HK$9.9 million for a lot of about 400 square metres in Pak Shui Wun. It was in the heart of what used to be rich farmlands but are now overgrown and disused fields. The company bought another lot in the valley on the same day, for the same amount. If it has paid similar amounts for other blocks, its land investment totals hundreds of millions of dollars.

The chairman of the Pak Shui village Mutual Aid Committee is watching the situation closely. 'Developers don't yet have permission to do anything,' he said. 'But if plans go through for a resort, we will be very strongly against it. People love walking down [to the beach] to have a swim; it's a natural treasure.'