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Following is a question by the Hon Wu Chi-wai and a reply by the Secretary for the Environment, Mr Wong Kam-sing, in the Legislative Council today (October 9):
Question:
Currently, the Government refers to private lands or government lands adjacent to country parks or surrounded by country parks but not included in country parks as "enclaves". According to a paper submitted by the Government to this Council earlier, there were 77 enclaves in the territory in early 2010, with a total area of some 2 076 hectares. Among such enclaves, 23 have been included in Outline Zoning Plans (OZPs). It has been reported that the Town Planning Board (TPB) is considering proposals to amend the OZPs concerned to zone parts of the two enclaves in Hoi Ha and Pak Lap of Sai Kung East Country Park as "Village Type Development". Some members of the public have relayed to me that Hoi Ha Wan is a designated marine park, and dumping of wastes has been spotted earlier in Pak Lap. They are worried that once those enclaves are zoned "Village Type Development" by TPB, the ecology of the country park will be seriously ruined. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) whether it will consider incorporating all enclaves into country parks; if it will, of the timetable for incorporation of the respective enclaves; if not, the reasons for that; and
(b) given the Government has decided to introduce relevant subsidiary legislation to the Legislative Council to incorporate Sai Wan and several enclaves into the country parks concerned at the end of this year in response to the grave public concern arising from the unauthorised excavation works carried out in the enclave of Sai Wan in 2010, whether the Government will follow the same principle to impose control on developments of privately-owned enclaves when incorporating other enclaves into country parks in future?
Reply:
President,
My reply to the Hon Wu Chi-wai's questions is as follows:
(a) In June 2010, unauthorised excavation works were detected on both private land and government land of the country park enclave of Sai Wan, which triggered significant public concerns on the protection of country park enclaves in Hong Kong. At that time, there were 77 country park enclaves, of which 23 had already been covered by Outline Zoning Plans (OZPs) under the Town Planning Ordinance (Cap. 131) (TPO). In the 2010-11 Policy Address, the Government undertook to either include the remaining 54 enclaves into country parks, or determine their proper uses through statutory planning to meet conservation and social development needs.
To implement this policy, the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) and the Planning Department carry out assessments on different enclaves having regard to their situations. Relevant factors such as conservation values, landscape and aesthetic values, geographical locations, existing scale of human settlement and development pressures are taken into consideration. For enclaves which are assessed to be suitable for incorporation into country parks, AFCD will submit the designation proposals to the Country and Marine Parks Board (CMPB) for consideration and will consult the relevant stakeholders before initiating the relevant statutory process.
AFCD has confirmed to incorporate 3 enclaves, namely Sai Wan, Kam Shan and Yuen Tun into respective country parks, and has invoked the statutory procedures under the Country Parks Ordinance (Cap. 208) (CPO). At present, the approved maps of the concerned country parks have been deposited in the Land Registry. In accordance with the CPO, we have prepared a designation order. We issued a Legislative Council brief and press release on July 17 informing Members and the public that the designation order will be gazetted on October 11 and will be tabled at the Legislative Council on October 16 for negative vetting procedures. For the remaining country park enclaves, we will consider the priority in assessing their suitability for inclusion in the country parks based on the experience gained from implementing the designation process for Sai Wan, Kam Shan and Yuen Tun.
Besides, to date, the Planning Department has prepared 17 Development Permission Area (DPA) Plans for 24 enclaves, among which 3 of them has already been covered by draft OZPs. In 2013-14, the Planning Department will prepare DPA Plans for the remaining enclaves which are identified suitable for protection by statutory plans. According to the TPO, the Planning Authority (the Director of Planning) may take enforcement and regulatory actions against unauthorised developments in areas covered by DPA Plans or the subsequent OZPs to replace them.
(b) On the second part of the question, incorporating private land in enclaves into country parks is by no means depriving the ownership of the private land, nor would the incorporation revert the land back to the Government. The private lands within country parks are governed by lease conditions and the CPO.
For any development proposal on private land, the concerned party is required to check whether the proposed works comply with the lease conditions and do not contravene the CPO or other legislations. If necessary, based on the land lease, he should submit an application to the relevant District Lands Office (DLO), who will then review the applications following the established procedures. If the application is not in contravention to the CPO as well as other relevant legislations, and is not objected by relevant departments, the DLO may approve such application with conditions. The proposed works could only be commenced after obtaining the approval from the DLO. In considering any application for use within a country park, the DLO will consult the Country and Marine Parks Authority (the Authority) before making a decision to approve or not approve it. The Authority will assess any proposed development of land in a country park on the merits of the individual case. The Authority will consider whether the proposed development would substantially reduce the enjoyment and amenities of the country park concerned. In this connection, the Authority will take into account all relevant factors including land status, location, nature conservation, landscape and visual impacts, and country park users or facilities points of views. If necessary, the Authority will seek advice from the CMPB before deciding whether the proposed use or development is acceptable or not.
Upon designation of the enclaves as country park areas, if the Authority is of the opinion that any use or proposed use of, or any new development on, any leased land within the sites would "substantially reduce the enjoyment and amenities of the country park as such", under section 16 of the CPO, he may request the Land Authority to exercise the powers conferred by the CPO, whom may then, by notice in writing, require such use or proposed use be discontinued or modified within a designated period. Any aggrieved occupiers could object, appeal or seek compensation according to procedures prescribed in the CPO.
Ends/Wednesday, October 9, 2013
Issued at HKT 17:13
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