No more skyscrapers taller than 40 storeys will be allowed in Central if a series of Planning Department proposals becomes law. New buildings in certain urban areas on both sides of the harbour would be restricted to 40 storeys on the waterfront and 60 storeys inland, according to the plan to protect what remains of the SAR's mountain skyline. However, the department said that new super-skyscrapers could be allowed on the southern tip of Kowloon. The proposals form part of a public consultation document on urban design. The consultation period ends on September 30. There is no timetable for implementation. The building height limits were proposed to protect 'viewing corridors' which provide views of mountain ridges, including Victoria Peak and Mount Parker on Hong Kong side and Beacon Hill, Lion Rock, Tsz Wan Shan and Kowloon Peak on the Kowloon side. The proposed high-rise restricted areas include Central, parts of Wan Chai and Quarry Bay on Hong Kong Island; and Southeast Kowloon new town, Mongkok, Lai Chi Kok and Kwun Tong on the Kowloon side. Currently, when viewed from the Kowloon side, Hong Kong Island ridge lines are broken by a number of skyscrapers such as the Bank of China Tower, Cheung Kong Centre and Central Plaza. The 88-storey Airport Railway Hong Kong Station, currently under construction, will disrupt the view. Most of the ridge line in Kowloon, when viewed from the Convention and Exhibition Centre in Wan Chai, is also blocked by existing high-rises. Proposed buildings include the Gateway III in Tsim Sha Tsui, the Mody Road Land Development Corporation project and the 105-storey Airport Railway Kowloon Station. An area at the tip of southern Kowloon has been reserved as a 'high-rise node' in the planning document. The Planning Department said several ways were studied to enforce the new limit. It could either be done by law, or statutory rules on outline zoning plans for developers. The Hong Kong Institute of Planners warned that height controls should not block developers from projects for which they had already received approval. But planner Richard Yu Lap-kee was outraged that the authorities were willing to tolerate more skyscrapers in Kowloon, saying views of Lion Rock had already been limited. 'I could not comprehend the rationale of allowing more skyscrapers in Kowloon where the situation is already catastrophic,' he said. VIEW07GET
