Call to make golf courses part of Hong Kong land reserves
Private clubs, whose land use is of a lower intensity, can be freed up for redevelopment when need be, in an idea drawn from Singapore
Hong Kong should follow Singapore's example in listing some private golf courses in a land reserve, an economist and government housing adviser says.
Dr Andy Kwan Cheuk-chiu's suggestion comes as the government faces pressure to redevelop a Fanling golf club instead of undertaking a dual-town project that will displace thousands of villagers living nearby in Fanling North and Kwu Tung North.
While the Fanling golf course could not replace the dual-town project, which had been planned for years, the 170-hectare site, together with a few other golf courses in the city, should be studied for future development possibilities, Kwan said.
"Some private golf clubs pay nominal rents to the government while running the site like an exclusive club for the rich," Kwan, a member of the Long Term Housing Strategy Steering Committee, said. "This is blatant exploitation. The government should return the land to the people."
He referred to a land use plan issued by the Singaporean government earlier this year, which says it needs to recycle land with uses of lower intensity, such as golf courses, to support a larger population.
Hong Kong has six private golf courses - in Fanling, Deep Water Bay, Clear Water Bay, Discovery Bay, Shek O and the airport. The first three operate under private recreational leases that charge nominal rents, but the government can take back the sites when the leases expire.
Secretary for Development Paul Chan Mo-po said yesterday that the government had the right to recycle the Fanling site if it was in the public interest with one year's notice - without the need to compensate the lessee.