*******************************************************

The Town Planning Board today (December 10) further considered the review application for the hotel and open space development at Ship Street and Kennedy Road, Wan Chai, and decided to defer a decision on the case.

"At the hearing today, the applicant presented to the Board a further improvement proposal which involves a reduction in the proposed development intensity, number of hotel rooms and building height as well as an increase in open space provision. The Board considers it necessary to gauge public views on the applicant's latest proposal through the District Officer (Wan Chai) to allow a due process of public consultation before making a decision," a spokesman for the Board said.

"The Board noted that a Legislative Council (Legco) case conference on the project will be held on December 20. While the Board is a statutory body empowered by the Town Planning Ordinance to deal with all statutory planning matters independently, it has decided that the views of Legco Members should also be taken into account as they may have relevance to the consideration of the application," the spokesman added.

The spokesman said that the Board would make a decision on the application at its scheduled meeting in February 2005 after the public consultation.

The mega tower hotel project was rejected by the Board's Metro Planning Committee in April this year. At the review hearing in July, the Board raised a number of concerns relating to the development scale, traffic, visual, tree felling, open space, and sunlight and ventilation aspects. The Board requested that the applicant submit further information to demonstrate that these concerns could be satisfactorily addressed. The applicant made further submissions in writing and at the hearing to address the concerns, and a further improvement proposal was presented. As the public members have not yet had the opportunity to express their views on the improvement proposal, the Board has decided to request the District Officer (Wan Chai) to seek the opinions of the local community.

Ends/Friday, December 10, 2004

NNNN