Owners eager to make their garden private
Owners of apartments at Metro Harbour View in Tai Kok Tsui have urged the government to disclose how much they would have to pay if they 'privatise' the public garden on the podium level of their estate.
The owners' corporation of the estate is to consult residents on whether to close the garden to the public. The move was sparked by the announcement by the Development Bureau to lawmakers this week, that in special circumstances the bureau would consider allowing owners to privatise public open spaces.
The garden, of about 100,000 square feet, is on the fourth floor of the estate, which was completed in 2003. Some owners said they were not aware the garden was open to the public until the bureau disclosed the locations of all public open space in the city in 2008.
They blamed the developer and estate agents for misleading them into believing the garden was private, and said the developer should pay for the 'privatisation'.
'We are paying more to maintain the public garden. The estate might have to bear a huge insurance claim if a third party gets injured in the garden. We are very worried,' corporation chairwoman Sarah Wong Kah-ying said.
The corporation had installed about 30 CCTVs at its public space and stationed two security guards in the garden to ensure safety.
Apart from paying a waiver fee, the owners are required to gain support from the district council, area committee, and the Town Planning Board and to ensure open space sufficiency will not be affected by the omission of the public garden.
The bureau said the waiver fee reflects the enhanced value of the estate after privatising the public garden. But it has not disclosed the exact amount involved.
Henry Chan Man-yu, a Yau Tsim Mong District councillor said the area committee had a meeting with the owners, but no consensus was reached.
'While some members hope the owners could add more greenery and recreational facilities at the public space on the estate's first and second floors as compensation, other members were reluctant to make such a political decision,' Chan said.
District Council chairman Chung Kong-mo said the council will discuss the issue after the area committee has endorsed the owners' proposal. 'We are concerned at the implication of losing an open space in the district,' he said.
A Development Bureau spokeswoman said the Lands Department had not received the owners' application.
A spokeswoman for Henderson Land, the developer of Metro Harbour View, said the company as an owner of the estate's shopping mall will study the feasibility of privatising the garden after the district council and the Town Planning Board endorse the owners' proposal.
The sales brochures had stated the garden was open to public, she added.
Keeping tabs
The number of CCTVs the owners' corporation has installed in public space at Metro Harbour View: 30
