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The Chief Executive in Council has approved the draft Ngong Ping Outline Zoning Plan (OZP).
"The approved OZP provides a statutory land use planning framework to guide the development and redevelopment in Ngong Ping," a spokesman for the Town Planning Board said today (April 11).
The Planning Scheme Area of the approved OZP covers a total area of about 102 hectares. The OZP was prepared with the intention of preserving the natural landscape and religious heritage of Ngong Ping while enhancing its potential as a key tourist destination. The design concept therefore aims to maintain the unique ambience of Ngong Ping and preserve its low-rise, low-density rural character and to enhance visitors' experience of the area.
Existing key attractions such as the Tian Tan Buddha Statue and Po Lin Monastery form the main building blocks of the design concept. They will be complemented by a larger, vehicle-free public square/piazza, which will be connected to a tourist corridor leading from the cable car terminal in the northwest and the public transport terminal in the west.
About 80% of the total area is zoned "Conservation Area", "Green Belt" and "Site of Special Scientific Interest" to conserve the natural environment and the ecologically sensitive habitats. The three zones take up about 57.8ha, 10.3ha and 14ha respectively.
Some 6.4ha of land, including the Tian Tan Buddha Statue and Po Lin Monastery, is zoned "Government, Institution or Community".
About 1.9ha of land in front of Po Lin Monastery is zoned "Open Space" to provide a vehicle-free public square to enhance the visitor experience, serve as a focus for activities and improve the connection between different places of interests.
The Tea Garden Restaurant site and the adjoining disused paddock with an area of about 1.3ha are zoned "Recreation".
A site of 0.2ha and another one of 1.3ha are zoned "Other Specified Uses" for the development of a cable car terminal and a tourist corridor which will form the main pedestrian route bringing visitors from the cable car or public transport terminals to the Buddha Statue and Po Lin Monastery. Another site of 2.2ha is also zoned "Other Specified Uses" for a proposed sewage treatment plant and an amenity area.
Some 4.7ha of land is zoned "Village Type Development" to demarcate the area for Ngong Ping Village. In addition, a small area of 0.2ha is zoned "Residential (Group C)" for an existing villa development behind Po Lin Monastery.
The approved OZP No S/I-NP/2 is now available for public inspection during office hours at the following locations:
* Secretariat of the Town Planning Board, 15/F, North Point Government Offices, 333 Java Road;
* Lantau and Islands District Planning Office, Planning Department, 15/F, Sha Tin Government Offices, 1 Sheung Wo Che Road;
* Islands District Office, 20/F, Harbour Building, 38 Pier Road, Central;
* Islands District Office, Mui Wo Sub-office, G/F, Mui Wo Government Offices, 2 Ngan Kwong Wan Road, Lantau Island; and
* Tai O Rural Committee, 29 Market Street, Tai O, Lantau Island.
Copies of the approved plan are available for sale at the Map Publications Centres in Yau Ma Tei and North Point. Its electronic version can be viewed on the Town Planning Board's website, www.info.gov.hk/tpb.
End/Friday, April 11, 2003
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