Fight to save Hong Kong green belt sites after they are earmarked for housing

The Town Planning Board could face legal challenges from a Tai Po residents group and an environment group over its decision to allow two green-belt sites to be turned over to housing.

Earlier this month the board endorsed government requests to rezone seven green-belt sites to help meet its housing targets, but protests from opposition groups saw it reject applications to rezone two other plots, saying they should "remain as a buffer zone around urban areas".

One of the sites the board ruled would be rezoned was a 4.13 hectare plot at Lo Fai Road, Tai Po, where 660 private flats are now set to be built. Lo Fai Road residents had repeatedly protested against the plan, with about 50 of them voicing their opposition at the board's public hearings.

"We are happy to see that the board has taken the environment into consideration and decided to preserve the two green-belt sites, although we feel disappointed by the decision on the site we have campaigned for," said a representative of the Lo Fai Road Concern Group.

She said residents were now considering seeking a judicial review against the board's ruling.

Allan Hay, another member of the concern group and a former assistant director of lands, who spoke out at one of the board's hearings, said: "Eighteen or 19 [out of 28] non-official members were not there. How can a decision be made when these people are not there?"