Town Planning Board members yesterday urged further restrictions to the development of harbourfront areas on the former North Point Estate, saying drastic cuts already proposed by the government were not enough to ensure there was no wall effect along the waterfront.
They also asked the government to reconsider its decision not to provide a Cantonese opera centre on the site to serve the ageing local population.
In a revised proposal presented to the board on Thursday by the Planning Department, gross floor area of the site would be slashed by 66 per cent, from 3,979,450 sq ft to 1,314,392 sq ft.
But board members were worried that the wall effect would still exist if there was no cap on the amount of development allowed along the waterfront.
'Under the current proposal, the developer is still allowed to place buildings on [the] front of the harbour to enhance the value of its residential development,' said board member Bernard Lim Wan-fung.
He urged the department to stipulate that only 45 per cent of harbourfront areas could be blocked by development.