The Wang Chau plan, which has been strongly opposed by rural landlords, has brought forth allegations from Chu and others that the government opted out of developing the site in order to appease those who have vested interests in the land.

Wong, formerly vice-chairman of the Town Planning Board overseeing the project’s approval, said it was the government’s policy to first develop land that was easier to handle to ensure flats are delivered on time given a long queue exists for public housing. He said the rest would be carried out in phases.

The government has had difficulty developing brownfield sites, such as storage depots and scrap car yards, which have been taken up abandoned farmland across the New Territories.

Although activists have urged the government to prioritise using brownfield sites for housing before considering developing green belts and country parks, authorities have said such an approach would entail rehousing villagers as well as finding alternative solutions for different ongoing operations such as recycling yards and pig farms.

The environmentalist-turned lawmaker is to meet Chan and Edward Yiu Chung-yim, the newly elected lawmaker for the architectural, surveying, planning and landscape sector on Thursday morning, according to a source close to the matter.

The development bureau did not respond to the Post’s enquiries by press time.

Additional reporting by Shirley Zhao