Building 21-storey hostel will damage historic Hong Kong temple, activists warn

Community activists are calling on a Hong Kong charity to scrap its plan to erect a 21-storey youth hostel next to Man Mo Temple in Sheung Wan, fearing the development will damage the historic monument.

Tung Wah Group of Hospitals submitted its application to the Town Planning Board in September to relax the height restriction so it could demolish an eight-storey vacant school to make way for a 97-metre-high tower with 302 bed spaces.

The town planners were scheduled to discuss the application in December but the meeting was deferred until April 22 to allow more time for public consultation.

In its paper submission, Tung Wah said the plan was a response to the government’s call to use land granted to charities to “relieve the imminent housing needs of the youths”.

Tung Wah added the plan was “small in scale and no adverse traffic, environment, air ventilation, heritage, visual, landscape and sewage impact onto the surrounding area is anticipated”.

Protesting against the development plan on Monday, Katty Law Ngar-ning, convenor of the Central and Western Concern Group, said Tung Wah had yet to show how it could carry out construction without causing structural damage to the temple or provide details of any geological studies it had done.