A flat owner at Tuen Mun Town Plaza said she was surprised yesterday when she was informed that the apparently private 6,000-square-metre podium garden at her residential complex was in fact open to the public. That came after the Development Bureau released the names of a fourth batch of public open spaces created in private developments. The bureau said nine more public parks had been identified in North Point, Sham Shui Po, Tuen Mun, Sha Tin, Kwai Chung and Tung Chung, in housing developments which had been built in the early 1980s. Six of the nine parks are located on the ground floor of housing projects, while three are on podiums - the one in Tuen Mun Town Plaza phase one, and areas in New Kwai Fong Gardens and New Kwai Hing Gardens in Kwai Tsing district. The largest public open space identified is Penfold Park in Sha Tin Racecourse, at 80,000 square metres. A total of 56 open spaces in private developments have been identified in document searches by the bureau since March last year. Pressure for disclosure of the information came after the discovery that the piazza of Times Square in Causeway Bay was public open space. Ms Yeung, who said she had been living in Tuen Mun Town Plaza for more than 10 years, said she thought the podium garden on the fourth floor was only for residents. She said a swimming pool was built near the garden a few years ago, reinforcing her impression that the whole area was private. 'The pool opens for residents only,' she said. She also wondered if management fees paid by residents covered maintenance of the garden. The Tuen Mun Town Plaza garden is larger than the 5,420-square-metre garden on the ground floor of City Garden in North Point, which was also identified as a public park yesterday. Tuen Mun District councillor Chan Wan-sang said he was also surprised by the bureau's latest announcement. 'Few people use the garden although it is not locked,' he said, adding the district council had never been informed of its status. 'I believe many [flat] owners are still unaware of the situation,' he said. 'The government should disclose other 'hidden' public parks in Tuen Mun as early as possible.' A Tuen Mun Town Plaza customer service centre spokesman said the podium garden was managed by Sino Group, adding that it opened to the public from 7am to 7pm daily. He said the swimming pool near the garden was for residents only, but the garden was accessible to the public. Sino Group could not be reached for comment last night. A spokeswoman for the Development Bureau said the release of the information was intended to enhance transparency and facilitate accessibility to public facilities.
