Greenpeace warns country park housing would have ‘unstoppable’ consequences for Hong Kong

Development of Tai Lam Country Park could lead to new buildings on other green space, environmentalists warn

Financial secretary Paul Chan insists houses on edge of park would not put other green space at risk

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A view of Shap Pat Heung, Tai Tong and Tai Lam Chung Reservoir from Yuen King Village in Yuen Long. Photo: SCMP.

Published: 7:00am, 4 Aug 2022

Environmentalists warned on Wednesday that a suggestion by Hong Kong’s finance chief that the edge of the city’s second-biggest country park could be used to create new public housing would be the thin end of the wedge.

Chan Hall-sion, a senior campaigner at Greenpeace Hong Kong, said development of Tai Lam Country Park in the western New Territories would not shorten the housing queue and would have “unstoppable” consequences.

“The secretary has made wrong assumptions. He has underestimated the situation,” she said.

Chan was speaking after Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po told the Post last month that the new government would not rule out developing the fringes of the park to create 35,000 public housing units.

He insisted construction on the parkland could ease a serious shortage of affordable homes and that there should be no more debate on land supply options.

The financial secretary said later that 35,000 new homes could house 20 per cent of the 147,500 general applicants for public rental housing and cut the waiting time of 6.1 years to less than five years.