Developer of theme park has been assured of land use, court told

A developer who secured a site in Quarry Bay would not lose development rights even though the actual land use differed from that originally designated by the Town Planning Board, the Court of First Instance was told yesterday.

Counsel for the board Ambrose Ho said developer Fine Tower Associates had been told during a meeting with Director of Lands Patrick Lau Lai-chiu in September 2003 that the lease could be modified to suit the changed land use.

Fine Tower Associates secured the 400,000 sq ft site in two lots near Hoi Yu Street 12 years ago. The lease restricts the developer to using the land for industrial or godown purposes.

Fine Tower later changed its proposal from building an oil depot to building an 'Old Hong Kong' theme park, after learning the land would be rezoned for culture, leisure and tourism use by the Town Planning Board.

But the developer is concerned the government might accuse it of breaching the conditions of the original lease. One of the issues the developer is seeking the court to review is whether the board's new planning controls, under the rezoning, will restrict the development to such an extent that they amount to an expropriation.

But Mr Ho argued that the developer had already been reassured on the matter.