Developer clears hurdle in plan for boutique hotel on The Peak

A private developer that aims to turn a 99-year-old residence on The Peak into a boutique hotel cleared a major hurdle yesterday when government planners endorsed its revised plans with "no objection".

The next step is to secure approval from the government's advisers on the Town Planning Board, which is likely to arrive at a decision at its meeting today.

The developer, Crown Empire, made changes to its proposal for 27 Lugard Road to address public concerns and enhance the hotel's operations, according to a report the Planning Department submitted to the board indicating its approval.

Crown Empire now intends to build just one new block instead of three. It will also create 12 hotel rooms instead of 17, and only two parking spaces, down from five.

The area designated for a publicly accessible education centre is also enlarged significantly from 33 square metres to 146 square metres.

The firm also pledged special traffic arrangements to ensure road safety. It would not provide passenger trips on its electric minicar from 9am to 7pm on weekends and public holidays.