Hong Kong Golf Club takes swing at ‘deficient’ impact report for public housing bid over missing ecological data
- Senior Counsel Benjamin Yu, club’s representative in legal challenge, says environmental report failed to properly assess site’s ecological value or address public concerns
- Legal battle may determine if authorities can build public housing on portion of city’s oldest golf course in Fanling
A report assessing the environmental impact of building public flats on part of Hong Kong’s oldest golf course failed to properly determine the site’s ecological value or address public concerns as required, a court heard on Thursday.
The Hong Kong Golf Club last year launched a judicial challenge against the director of environmental protection’s conditional approval of the environmental impact assessment report, which could allow for the development of public housing on the Old Course in Fanling.
Senior Counsel Benjamin Yu Yuk-hoi, the club’s legal representative for the case, described the report as “deficient”, adding that the ignored compliance requirements constituted a “technical breach”.
He also noted the area was home to 80 potentially “old and valuable trees”, which were identified as a serious constraint to development in a 2017 feasibility study report commissioned by the Civil Engineering and Development Department.
Yu said the trees listed in the 2017 report were not mentioned in the other document, despite authorities being required to review sensitive landscape resources when conducting such assessments.
The Development Bureau maintains a register of old and valuable trees residing on unleased government land located in built-up areas or tourist attraction spots in village areas.