Battle to keep government off new-town site
Company says authorities have lost any right to land after failing to reclaim it over last 60 years
A company occupying land at the site of a proposed government new town has gone to court in an effort to stay put.
It is not known whether the strip of land near Kwu Tung Road falls inside the 333-hectare site where 60,700 flats are planned in a HK$120 billion development.
In a High Court writ, the company is seeking a declaration that the government's title to the land is extinguished, or alternatively that the company is entitled to occupy the land as lessee until June 30, 2047.
It is also seeking an injunction to prevent the government or its people from entering the land.
Section 7 of the ordinance prevents the government from taking action to recover any land for 60 years from the date when it first had the right to do so.
The writ does not say how long the company has occupied the land or how the land is used.
It seeks an order that if any changes are made to the land the government must reinstate it. If it does not do so, the company claims the right to do the work itself at the government's cost.
The government's plan to develop two new towns in the North-east New Territories has met strong opposition from villagers.
Media reports said that most farmland in the Kwu Tung area is owned by the Man clan.
Secretary for Development Paul Chan Mo-po got a hostile reception when he visited Kwu Tung on Sunday.
Villagers, some of them in tears, told him they would refuse to move out of the homes they loved.
They also argued that officials lacked understanding of their communities, and questioned whether the transport network could cope with further population growth.
