Residents see red over Hong Kong green belt grab
Company wants more land for access road to planned 28-floor tower on Tai Hang Road
A campaign is being mounted against a proposal to rezone nearly 2,000 square metres of green government land for private use in Tai Hang as part of a residential development.
Residents were shocked to discover details of the Tai Hang Road development in an application to the Town Planning Board.
It concerns a tower about 28 floors high – excluding two basementcar parks – and a 50-metre podium supporting the building. The development will be nearly 3.5 times taller than the existing six-floor building on the site.
The application by Century Shiner, a subsidiary of mainland-based Shenzhen Centralcon Investment Holding Company, also seeks approvalfor 1,950 square metres of green belt land to be used for an access roadand “associated works for residential development”.
There will be a massive loss of green area for the residents of Tai Hang
Paul Zimmerman, chief executive of Designing Hong Kong, believes residents were unaware of the size of the new building, the potential loss of green space and a severely affected sight line.
“Neighbouring residents can’t be happy with getting a massive tower,” he said.
The application also wants 48 trees felled on land not being used for the access road. Only eight trees will be retained and those felled willbe replaced by proposed woodland and shrubbery.
“There will be a massive loss of green area for the residents of Tai Hang,” Zimmerman said.
Tai Hang district councillor, Clarisse Yeung Suet-ying is rallying support from residents to get the board to reject the application by handing out leaflets and launching an online petition.
Yeung and Zimmerman, althoughnot against development on the acquired site, said the developer “has every right”, but should not encroach on green belt land for private gain.
“It changes a green slope in to a massive property development,” Zimmerman said.
Century Shiner defended its application by saying the access road would directly support the residential development and “offer a valuable opportunity” to carry out road improvements in the area. The company said it would be compatible with the surrounding environment.
Zimmerman believes the company will also defend its application by claiming traffic pressure will be relieved on lower Tai Hang Road and transferred to the less used upper road.
Yeung hopes in the event of the application being rejected, Century Shiner will “reconsider”, and not erect a “giant monster” on Tai Hang Road.
The public consultation period ends on Friday.
