Monetary gain from hotel not worth price of beach-goers' loss
I have written to object to the government's proposal to change the outline zoning plan for Repulse Bay and sell the Seaview Building and the open space next to it for a hotel development.
Hong Kong is my home and I remember going to the beach to escape the summer heat. Many families still enjoy our public beaches, but this plan flies in the face of everything the public beaches stand for. It has always been my understanding that the beaches in Hong Kong were sacred and for public use only.
This city has thousands of commercial complexes and hotels. There is already a huge shopping complex lining the other side of Repulse Bay Beach. It took two years to build and it remains empty and closed.
Besides the outrage of making the beach private or at least penned in by private developments, the construction of a hotel and other commercial sites will put more pressure on the infrastructure in the area, which is already overstretched. Repulse Bay is already built up and the only access is one two-lane road.
Because of this, it is already difficult for people to get to the beach. This new project will lead to even more traffic congestion.
I know many people like me have written to object to the plan, however, I can't help feeling that the public consultation is simply a formality. Furthermore, it seems that only residents in the area have been notified of the plan and the general public knows nothing about it, even though thousands of people use the beach.
Hong Kong is an amazing and unique place. It has always had to struggle with finding a balance between progress, preserving its past and its public recreational areas and moving forward. I hope that the government will reconsider its actions, look beyond the monetary benefits and think about its people and the enormous benefit and enjoyment that they derive from the beach. Privatising the land along the beach will certainly diminish its beauty and deprive the public of much enjoyment.
I am pessimistic whether writing letters and raising objections to the plan can override the call of the almighty dollar. I hope I am proved wrong.
Laura A. Ng, Repulse Bay
