A planning statement submitted to the Town Planning Board this month shows a coastal area of about 45 hectares at Ha Pak Lai, 7km from the Shenzhen Western Corridor, as the site of 121 two-storey houses, a public golf course, a clubhouse with dormitories, and rural recreational facilities such as horse-riding trails, cycling paths and fields for hobby farming.

Situated at outer Deep Bay, the site is 4km from inner Deep Bay which includes the internationally renowned wetland Mai Po - a feeding ground for tens of thousands of migrant birds. It is surrounded by green belts and borders one of three nearby archaeological sites.

A great egrets' breeding site, the biggest in Hong Kong, has been recorded there.

The developer said the Pak Nai area was predominantly rural with village houses - many dilapidated - agricultural land, a vacant village and fish ponds. There were streams polluted by domestic waste and some abandoned wells and tanks had become mosquito breeding grounds.

About 20 hectares of trees - an area slightly larger than Victoria Park - will be felled if the development is approved. Roads will have to be increased and widened.

The developer must also acquire more than 24 hectares of government land.

In surveys commissioned by the developer, the undisturbed areas are said to have 'moderate' ecological value. The species diversity of birds and fish is not rich, while agricultural activity has attracted some butterflies.

But experts and green groups said the surveys had not been conducted scientifically. Captain Wong Lun-cheong, convenor of the egret research group of the Hong Kong Bird Watching Society, said one study was not conducted over a full year and did not even mention the breeding site, where more than 60 nests were recorded last year.

Mr Lau insisted that the development would revitalise abandoned farms and provide jobs.

'Rural sites in the northwest New Territories have been frozen for years. It is unfair to owners,' he said.