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Letters | Hong Kong has better options to fix housing crisis than Fanling golf course
- Readers discuss alternatives to using the Fanling golf course as a site for public housing and the need to look at all options to phase out subdivided housing
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Alice Wu’s article “Rich-poor debate over Hong Kong golf course puts government in a bind” (August 29) once again frames the Fanling golf course issue as a contest between the elites and the have-nots, distorting the full picture on the use of nine hectares of land at the golf course for public housing.
The original government proposal to take back 32 hectares for housing was a Robin Hood gesture of robbing the rich to give to the poor. Ignoring the contribution of sport to society, it was a quick fix at best. Only when taking a closer look at what was involved did officials realise the whole area had high environmental and ecological value.
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The areas of the golf club occupied by the car park, the quarters and the multipurpose sports pitch were insufficient for any development, and so eight holes of the course were included to make any form of development possible. This has the effect of destroying the beneficial use of the whole for very little gain.
By way of clarification, the annual rent paid by the golf club is 3 per cent of the rateable value and equates to around HK$2.6 million (US$331,000). The low fee of HK$1,000 frequently referred to is the nominal premium, not the rent.
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Since the previous administration first proposed this development plan, better solutions have emerged. The areas earmarked for the Northern Metropolis are a better choice as they will embrace conservation and the use of brownfield sites.
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