Hong Kong court defers verdict on extending temporary halt on environmental authorities’ approval of golf course housing plan
- Hong Kong Golf Club turns down government offer to suspend construction work until legal proceedings are over
- Court earlier allowed club to commence judicial review over what management argued was a failure of authorities to carry out proper consultation
Hong Kong’s High Court has postponed a decision on whether to extend a temporary suspension of environmental authorities’ approval to build public housing on the city’s oldest golf course.
The judge remained unconvinced by the government’s argument on Thursday that the ban should be lifted immediately so pre-construction work could begin on 9.5 hectares (23.5 acres) of land in Fanling leased by the Hong Kong Golf Club. The site is part of a 32-hectare plot the government plans to take back in September.
The court last month allowed the club to commence a judicial review over an environmental impact assessment favouring the housing project, with the organisation claiming authorities failed to carry out proper consultation in approving the report.
A judge also ordered a temporary halt to any decisions, such as ones relating to building, arising from the assessment until the latest hearing determined whether an extension of the ban was necessary.
The government on Thursday extended an olive branch to the club in the long-running battle over the controversial project, offering to put construction on hold by delaying preliminary soil work by two years, but the suggestion was rejected.
Senior Counsel Benjamin Yu, representing the club, said the government’s latest offer did not ensure that the housing project would be put on hold.
He argued that the move would have been meaningless as the Civil Engineering and Development Department expected the inquiry on soil conditions to begin by mid-2024 at the earliest, by which time the court was likely to have already ruled on the judicial review.