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The Chief Executive in Council has approved the draft Ping Che and Ta Kwu Ling Outline Zoning Plan (OZP).
"The approved OZP provides a statutory land use planning framework to guide future development and redevelopment in the Ping Che and Ta Kwu Ling area," a spokesman for the Town Planning Board (the Board) said today (March 12).
The Planning Scheme Area, covering about 570 hectares, is bounded by Sha Tau Kok Road to the south, Tsung Shan and Hung Lung Hang to the west, Closed Area Boundary to the north and Cheung Shan to the east.
The general planning intention of the area is to promote the conservation of its rural character and to control urban sprawl, reduce flood risk and preserve agricultural land, and to achieve coherent planning and control of the open storage and industrial developments.
A total of 265.3 hectares of land is zoned "Agriculture" to retain and safeguard good quality agricultural land, farms and fish ponds within the area.
About 40.64 hectares of land is zoned "Village Type Development" to demarcate existing recognised villages and areas suitable for village expansion and 1.26 hectares is zoned "Residential (Group C)" to reflect an existing private residential and ancillary garden development.
About 17.63 hectares of land is zoned "Government, Institution or Community" to provide land for Government, institution or community facilities serving the needs of the local residents and/or a wider district, region or the territory.
To cater for the expansion of Wun Chuen Sin Kwoon and its associated columbarium use, a land area of about 1.31 hectares is zoned "Government, Institution or Community (1)". Any development within this zone is intended to be low-density and low-rise in nature. The maximum number of niches permitted as of right shall not exceed 6,776. Provision of additional niches may be considered by the Board through the planning permission system. The maximum number of niches for columbarium use within this zone shall not exceed 12,848.
To meet the needs of the local population and provide active and passive recreational opportunities for them, about 0.47 hectares of land is zoned "Open Space".
A total of 124.52 hectares in the southern part of the area is zoned "Open Storage" to cater for the growing demand for open storage, to regularise the haphazard proliferation of open storage uses in the area and to provide for the orderly development of land for open storage uses that cannot be accommodated in conventional godown premises.
About 14.64 hectares of land is zoned "Industrial (Group D)" to provide sites for industrial uses with special requirements and encourage the redevelopment of existing informal industrial developments into properly designed industrial buildings.
Hillslopes on Cheung Shan and Tsung Shan and the vegetated knolls and clusters of trees scattered within the area, with a total land area of 87.24 hectares, are zoned "Green Belt".
The approved Ping Che and Ta Kwu Ling OZP No. S/NE-TKL/14 is now available for public inspection during office hours at the Secretariat of the Town Planning Board, the Planning Enquiry Counters of Planning Department in North Point and Sha Tin, the Sha Tin, Tai Po and North District Planning Office, the North District Office, the Ta Kwu Ling District Rural Committee and the Fanling District Rural Committee.
Copies of the approved OZP are available for sale at Map Publications Centres in North Point and Yau Ma Tei. The electronic version of the plan can be viewed at the Board's website (www.info.gov.hk/tpb).
Ends/Friday, March 12, 2010
Issued at HKT 16:04
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