Hong Kong golf course in Fanling should be made public and opened to all on weekends as well, former top official suggests amid housing plan opposition
- Former commerce secretary Frederick Ma, also an adviser to the city’s leader, raises idea after earlier opposing housing plan to build 12,000 affordable flats on plot
- He said using part of the course for public housing would affect business networking and bring traffic congestion
Hong Kong’s oldest golf course in Fanling should become a public facility and be opened to residents daily instead of being exclusively for members on weekends, a former top official has suggested after arguing against a government housing plan for part of the site.
Former commerce secretary Frederick Ma Si-hang on Thursday made the latest comments on a controversial plan to build 12,000 public housing flats at the Hong Kong Golf Club, as more heavyweights chimed in on the matter amid a debate launched this week.
Ma said he would advocate the idea to the private club as a member of more than 30 years.
“The Old Course, all 18 holes, can be fully open to the public to play golf. Not only on weekdays, but also weekends,” Ma told the Post on Thursday. “The course can be made public and maintained by the club, which has the expertise to run the facility.”
Hong Kong currently only has one public golf course operated by the Jockey Club in Kau Sai Chau.
The Hong Kong Golf Club has been criticised for not further opening up the Fanling course, with public sentiment on its accessibility intensifying after members spoke up against the housing project planned on a nine-hectare (22-acre) plot. The debate was launched by the Town Planning Board.
Some environmentalists have also urged the government to protect the land from development while suggesting turning the course into a central park for the public to enjoy.
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But Ma, also an adviser to city leader John Lee Ka-chiu, on Thursday argued that opening up the course to every golf player would be better than turning it into a park.
“Most central parks are located at the centre of the city, like Hyde Park in London and Central Park in New York. The golf course in Fanling is too remote,” he said.
He pointed to the Old Course at St Andrews in Scotland as an example for his suggested model. The course, established in 1552 and said to be the world’s oldest, is operated by the private Royal and Ancient Golf Club.
“It is also run by a club but it’s open to all,” he said. “It’s known as the Mecca of Golf.”
The Hong Kong Golf Club runs three 18-hole courses in Fanling, with the Old Course built in 1911 being the first. But members of the public can only use the sites from Monday to Friday, with weekends only for members. Full membership can cost about HK$17 million (US$2.2 million) and new applications are not always open.
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According to club statistics, 46.2 per cent of total rounds played were by non-members in 2019.
Under the redevelopment plan, the government will take back 32 hectares of land from the golf club in September, including nine hectares earmarked for public housing. The rest will be reserved for conservation and recreational uses.
Ma told Town Planning Board members on Wednesday the plan might harm the city’s status as a place where business executives could easily network, warning also that the additional population brought to the district could result in traffic problems.
City leader Lee earlier said the government was also willing to lend the site back to the club for major tournaments before any construction commenced.
The board received 6,788 responses from the public about the housing plan last year, with an overwhelming 99.6 per cent against it.
