*******************************************************
The Town Planning Board today (February 15) promulgated a new set of guidelines to assist applicants in submitting planning applications for tutorial schools.
Private schools offering educational courses such as tutorial, commercial, language and computer are categorised by the Education Bureau as private schools offering a non-formal curriculum. A tutorial school is one type in this category.
From the experience of processing tutorial school applications in the past, the board considered that the main concern was whether the application premises were suitable for such a use from the planning point of view. Some previous application premises had direct access to street frontage and were separated from the domestic portion of the main building with direct and separate access to the public road.
On the other hand, some application premises were located in the inner part of a residential development and could be accessed only through the common area of the residential development, including the building lobby, landscaped garden and common rear lane. The operation of such tutorial schools would cause a nuisance to the residents of the development.
To make it clear to the public, the new guidelines have set out the main planning criteria adopted for processing applications for tutorial schools, although each application will be considered on its own merits by the board. These main criteria include: compatibility with other uses within the same building or surrounding developments; need to avoid causing disturbance or nuisance to local residents; proposed access (entrance) to the tutorial school to be separated from that of the domestic portion of the building; public views on the application; and compliance with fire and building safety requirements.
As tutorial schools are also subject to other requirements stipulated under other ordinances and regulations, the new guidelines remind applicants of the need to ensure compliance with such requirements and obligations before contemplating any works.
The new guidelines are now available at the secretariat of the board at 15/F, North Point Government Offices, 333 Java Road, North Point, Hong Kong (tel: 2231 4810 or 2231 4835) and the board's website (www.info.gov.hk/tpb).
Any enquiries may be addressed to the secretariat of the board at the above address or by email (tpbpd@pland.gov.hk), or to the Planning Enquiry Counters of the Planning Department (hotline: 2231 5000 and email: enquire@pland.gov.hk) at 17/F, North Point Government Offices and 14/F, Sha Tin Government Offices, 1 Sheung Wo Che Road, Sha Tin.
Ends/Friday, February 15, 2008
Issued at HKT 15:00
NNNN
