Discovery Bay residents have responded with dismay to plans for a hotel, shopping centre and other attractions for tourists, fearful that the tranquillity of their island life will be ruined.
HKR International, the development company which owns Discovery Bay, plans to turn the area in Lantau Island into a $1.5 billion 'coastal leisure and entertainment landmark'. Foundation work on a five-star hotel in Yi Pak Wan has already begun.
Local district councillor Amy Yung Wing-sheung said she had received complaints from residents who claimed tenants and owners had not been properly consulted before work began.
Ms Yung said that she had received e-mails and calls from residents saying they first knew of the plans' details from media reports yesterday. She called on the developer to meet residents.
HKR insists it consulted the local City Owners Committee (COC) about the plans. 'The COC is the only representative of the residents of Discovery Bay. It is the official channel of communication between the company and the residents,' a spokeswoman said.
A resident wrote to Ms Yung saying: 'I don't want or need a shopping mall or hotel on my doorstep. If I want these things, I'll take the ferry and go outside Discovery Bay.