Controversial plan to raze century-old Peak home for hotel project is approved
But developer must meet 11 conditions or else see its permit revoked
A developer's controversial proposal to turn a 99-year-old home on The Peak into a boutique hotel yesterday cleared its final planning hurdle.
But the Town Planning Board set 11 criteria which developer Crown Empire must meet, failing which the approval will be revoked.
The plan has sparked massive controversy; access to the hotel is via Lugard Road, a popular hiking trail just 1.8 metres wide. Opponents - who gathered more than 100,000 signatures against the plan - are concerned that traffic to and from the hotel will endanger walkers.
Crown Empire made a series of changes to the plans in response to public concerns. The number of rooms was reduced from 17 to 12, and the number of parking spaces was cut from five to two. The size of a proposed public education centre in the development was increased from 33 square metres to 146 square metres.
Among the conditions set by the board was a ban on cars entering Lugard Road to transport guests between 9am and 7pm. Only one return car journey per hour is allowed outside those hours. The proposed hotel, at 27 Lugard Road, is about a 10-minute walk from the road network.
WATCH: 27 Lugard Road mansion set to be demolished to pave way for hotel
READ MORE: Take a Peak into the past - inside the 99-year-old mansion
The board voted unanimously to approve the plan despite receiving some 3,215 public objections to the proposal and only 278 expressions of support. Concerns were raised over waste, as well as traffic. The developer is looking into using electric minicars to transport guests.
Central and Western district councillor Joseph Chan Ho-lim said the plan was unacceptable even with the conditions.
"Many people like to hike along Lugard Road before 9am. A lot of them are elderly. How are they going to avoid the cars going back and forth to the hotel?" Chan said.
Meanwhile the board rejected proposals to build five homes in idyllic Tai Long Wan village, located in an enclave surrounded by Sai Kung East Country Park.
One of the five applications came from Dr Thomas Sit Hon-chung, a senior official with the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department. A Planning Department official told yesterday's board meeting that the proposed houses would be too close to existing homes in the village.