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The Lands Department announced today (February 25) that lot owners may start to submit applications for lease modification including in-situ land exchange for development of land falling within the Kwu Tung North and Fanling North New Development Areas (NDAs) covered respectively by the draft Kwu Tung North Outline Zoning Plan No. S/KTN/1 and the draft Fanling North Outline Zoning Plan No. S/FLN/1 gazetted on December 20, 2013. Applications should only refer to sites which are planned for private developments on the adopted Kwu Tung North and Fanling North Outline Development Plans.
Interested parties may refer to the Lands Department Practice Note No. 1/2014, which is available on the department website (www.landsd.gov.hk) regarding the application requirements.
The Lands Department will publish on its website general information about the applications received and under processing, including a plan showing the boundaries of the private land involved in an application. Occupants on the sites concerned may liaise with the lot owner(s) on the "comparable compensation" as required by the Government and may approach the Lands Department for further information as necessary.
"The department has to start processing applications in order to meet the overall development programme planned for the two NDAs. Approval for any application will only be given after the above-mentioned Outline Zoning Plans have been approved by the Chief Executive in Council and provided that the application does not contradict the approved Outline Zoning Plans. Implementation of the NDAs is also subject to completion of other relevant statutory processes and the securing of relevant funding approvals," a spokesman for the Lands Department said.
On July 4, 2013, the Government announced that lease modifications including in-situ land exchanges in the two NDAs would be considered, subject to fulfilment of certain key criteria. These criteria include, amongst others, the requirement on site size (the proposed site to be surrendered should have an area of not less than 4,000 square metres) and the requirement for the landowner(s) to offer the occupants who were on site as of July 4, 2013, or thereafter a compensation package comparable to the prevailing monetary ex-gratia compensation that would have been offered by the Government to eligible occupants had the private land been resumed by the Government. In case the occupants on-site refuse to accept the comparable compensation package offered by the applicant and the application cannot be concluded within a specified time period for this and/or other reasons, the Government will not process the application and will resort to land resumption in taking forward the development.
Ends/Tuesday, February 25, 2014
Issued at HKT 17:30
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