Letters | Turning golf course into housing will undermine Hong Kong’s recovery as a global city

Readers discuss the need for balance between housing development and recreational facilities, the challenge of getting Cathay Pacific back to profitability, and a potential ally in facilitating contentious developments

Reading Time:4 minutes

The Hong Kong Golf Club at Fanling, seen on May 2. A heritage golf course should not be sacrificed for housing when alternatives exist. Photo: May Tse

Published: 11:30am, 21 May 2023

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In a recent Financial Times article titled “The tree, today’s most political of plants”, the opening paragraph asked: “If man is by nature a political animal, is a tree now a political plant?”

The debate in Hong Kong on the government considering taking back part of the Old Course at the Hong Kong Golf Club in Fanling would appear to fit into this perspective.

The Financial Times article was about a situation in Plymouth, England where 110 trees along a major avenue from the sea to the city centre were felled for development. The Conservative Party, which had given the go-ahead for the felling as the party in charge of the city council, lost almost all the seats in a subsequent election. Apparently, trees equalled votes!

In Hong Kong, the government launched the “Hello Hong Kong” campaign to try and attract tourists and international businesses to come back or set up shop in our beloved city. Unless we pay more attention to lifestyle issues such as family recreational and educational facilities – such as private country clubs, golf clubs, hiking trails and international schools – our efforts to attract overseas talent may not succeed.

There are so many alternative sites for affordable housing. Why do we need to disrupt our beloved heritage golf courses and in the process lessen our already limited green belts in the midst of our concrete jungle?

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.css-sioo19{color:#c79a00;}Letters | Turning golf course into housing will undermine Hong Kong’s recovery as a global city

Letters | Turning golf course into housing will undermine Hong Kong’s recovery as a global city