DEVELOPMENT around Mai Po Nature Reserve has aroused much public attention. The Town Planning Appeal Board recently approved Henderson Land's development plan to develop nearly 100 hectares of the Mai Po Wetlands into a multi-billion dollar housing project with an 18-hole, 50-hectare golf course. The developer will compensate the environment by a 'Habitat Creation Plan' together with the conservation of Lut Chau as an actively managed nature reserve.
This has alarmed both conservationists and the Town Planning Board because of the adverse impact it will have on the environmental and ecological quality of the area.
Development pressure in the Mai Po area is strong. There has been an influx of Section 16 planning applications in Mai Po since the promulgation of statutory planning control in 1990. From October 1990, when the first Interim Development Permission Area Plan was gazetted, up to July 1 this year, there have been 61 planning applications covering 794 hectares in Deep Bay buffer zones one and two.
Approval of Henderson Land's application may set a precedent for forthcoming cases. Another planning application from Cheung Kong (Holdings) will go to the Town Planning Appeal Board soon. The cumulative impact of these developments will undoubtedly cause a significant and irreversible adverse impact on the wildlife and ecological value of the area, and will be against the principles of bio-diversity and sustainable development as adopted at the Earth Summit in 1993.
The Town Planning Board has decided to launch a judicial review of the Town Planning Appeal Board's decision on Henderson Land's application. The Conservancy Association strongly supports the judicial review.
Henderson Land and their ecologists employed from England have tried to publicise the merits of their plans in various publications.
However, the public have shown their desire that the area be conserved as witnessed by over 10,000 citizens' signatures on one day.
