Development of Hakka village in Hong Kong gets government approval despite fears over impact on surrounding area
- Conservation charity gets government approval for Lai Chi Wo expansion
- Hong Kong Countryside Foundation wants to restore 14 houses in 400-year-old settlement
A plan to expand a revitalisation project in Hong Kong’s best-preserved Hakka village was approved by the city’s urban planning watchdog on Friday, despite opposition from villagers fearing commercialisation and damage to nature and heritage.
The Town Planning Board gave the green light to the proposal by the conservation charity Hong Kong Countryside Foundation, along with advice for more communication and explanation to worried villagers.
According to the application document, obtained by the Post on Thursday, the foundation wanted to restore 14 vacant houses in the 400-year-old Hakka village in Lai Chi Wo.
Under a 20-year lease proposed by the foundation, the houses would be turned into guest rooms for at most 56 visitors, highlighting Hakka-style heritage accommodation services.
The foundation offered to provide complimentary round-trip ferry services to the village, which is only accessible by boat as it is inside the Plover Cove Country Park in the northeastern New Territories.
