The government plans to put forward a conservation policy for public discussion in the second half of next year at the earliest, Secretary for Development Paul Chan Mo-po said in a television interview on Sunday.

The government gave up a plan to save the historic Ho Tung Gardens on The Peak earlier this month, saying that the owner refused to co-operate and that a court case with the owner would be prohibitively expensive.

The government also bowed to public pressure and abandoned a scheme, put forward by the last administration, to redevelop the west wing of the former government headquarters in Central.