Fears over access to Central coastline

Harbourfront Commission members have expressed concern over public access to the new Central coastline which will be split by a military berth.

At a meeting yesterday commission chairman Nicholas Brooke said he noted objections to the government plan to rezone the 0.3-hectare berth site from "open space" to "military use" for the People's Liberation Army.

"The real concern is the extent of public access," he said.

He called it a "planning debate" and said he would leave the Town Planning Board to judge, while asking members to speak.

Margaret Brooke, noting that the berth had been planned for a long time, called the rezoning "insensitive". "[The land] would no longer be part of our waterfront," she said.

She said the PLA would get what it needed with the existing open space zoning.