ARCHITECTS are opposing a government plan to impose further height restrictions on buildings in Kowloon. The Hong Kong Institute of Architects said the Planning Department proposal would reduce the supply of both commercial units and residential flats. A consultancy report commissioned by the department said scenic views of Lion Rock, Tate's Cairn and Kowloon Peak should be protected, and height restrictions should be imposed in nine districts. Only seven areas should have new buildings higher than 41 floors, the report recommended. The Planning Department is collecting views from district boards before it decides whether the proposals are implemented. The institute's vice-president, Francis Cheung King-fung, said the plans were impractical. 'The idea of protecting scenic views is a good one. But this doesn't mean there should be no high blocks in the whole of Kowloon,' he said. Mr Cheung said the scenery would even be improved if some high blocks were allowed in strategic areas, such as Hunghom and West Kowloon. 'The view of the Peak was not undermined by the Bank of China Tower . . . As Tung Chee-hwa pledged to build 85,000 flats every year, this proposal would be rather inconsistent with the target,' he said.
