Attached below is the complete proposal submitted by HKR’s consultant to the Town Planning Board for redevelopment of the Service Area at Discovery Bay, minus the lengthy airflow analysis. The Overview section is particularly useful for anyone who wishes to comment on the application. The deadline for comment is 23:59 on 25 November.

Even if you have submitted a comment previously, you may comment again based on any new information you find here. Visit: https://www.info.gov.hk/tpb/en/plan_application/Y_I-DB_4.html

Click on the topics for download. Most downloads are 20mb or less. However, the Environmental Study is 63mb.

1. Overview
2. Landscape Proposal
3. Traffic Impact Assessment
4. Environmental Study
5. Water and Sewage
6. Marine Noise Assessment
7. Visual Impact Assessment
8. Helipad Proposal
9. Revised OZP Proposal
10. Application and Updates

HKR has submitted a new application to the Town Planning Board to develop the service area at Area 10b, this time with an additional proposal to develop the former nursery within Peninsula Village.

The submission confirms speculation that the point that tripped up the previous application was the helipad, which is mandated in the lease.

Deadline for comments is 25 November.

https://www.info.gov.hk/tpb/en/plan_application/Y_I-DB_4.html

A review of the departmental comments in the document prepared by Planning Department for the meeting of the Rural and New Town Planning Committee on 14 January shows that several departments took on board comments made during the public consultation exercise. Key extracts from the document follow. These all provide fertile ground for follow up with the respective departments at the appropriate time.

Refer to the original document here.

Land Administration

(District Lands Officer/Islands)

Right of Development

The Principal Deed of Mutual Covenant (PDMC) dated 30.9.1982 has notionally divided the Lot into 250,000 undivided shares. The applicant will have to apply to LandsD for approval to amend the Master Plan. In the processing of the application for amendment of the MP, the applicant shall substantiate its right and capacity to develop the Site and demonstrate, amongst others, that the development will not prejudice the provisions in the PDMC and that they have sufficient undivided shares retained by them for allocation to the proposed development.

ExCo’s Endorsement

The Audit Commission in 2004 recommended that the D of Lands should seek ExCo’s endorsement before approving any major changes to the concept of a development if the concept has been approved by ExCo when approving the land grant. Should the Board approve the subject application, the applicant has to apply to LandsD for approval to amend the MP so as to implement the proposed development under the subject rezoning application. Upon receipt of such application, LandsD will process the application according to the established practice and seek endorsement of ExCo if the proposed development will result in a change of the development concept of the Lot. There is however no guarantee that such approval will be given by LandsD.

Environment

(Director of Environmental Protection)

The applicant has demonstrated the commitment to include a nitrogen removal system in the proposed STW for the Site.

Drainage and Sewerage

(Chief Engineer/Hong Kong & Islands, Drainage Services Dept.)

It is noted from the revised Environmental Study that emergency overflow pipe from the proposed STW at Area 6f will be connected to existing SPS No. 1 for discharge to Siu Ho Wan STW during emergency situation.

• The proposed measures, as specified in the revised Environmental Study, shall be implemented properly to avoid overflow during normal condition;
• The applicant shall exercise due diligence to resume normal operations of STW as soon as possible;
• The applicant could submit detailed hydraulic calculations to demonstrate that the public sewerage facilities have adequate capacities to handle the additional discharge from the proposed development during emergency situations in the design stage, or otherwise new sewers shall be constructed and maintained by the developer at his own cost to his satisfaction;
• The developer shall pay for the sewage service charges same as the normal condition.

Water Supply

(Chief Engineer/Construction, WSD)

It is noted that the applicant has revised the water supply proposal for the development such that the private water supply system is exclusively for Area 6f, including water treatment works, service reservoir and water mains, and will be totally separated from the water supply system (include service) conveying WSD water for the rest of Discovery Bay.

Geotechnical

(Head of Geotechnical Engineering Office, CEDD)

The proposed development is overlooked by steep natural hillside and meets the Alert Criteria requiring a Natural Terrain Hazard Study. It will also affect or be affected by man-made features. Based on the GPRR submitted by the applicant, it is considered that the information provided is insufficient to demonstrate the geotechnical feasibility of the proposed slope upgrading/modification and natural terrain hazard mitigation works. Further submission is required at the building plan submission stage.

Coming soon. Optimised land use!

In a paper prepared for the meeting of the Rural and New Town Planning Committee scheduled for 14 January regarding HKR’s application to rezone Area 6f for residential development, Planning Department advised that it has no in-principle objection to the proposal.

According to the paper, objections under the deed of mutual covenant can be dealt with under the lease. The RNTPC paper may be downloaded here.

Following HKR’s success in appealing the Town Planning Board’s decision to reject the development proposal for Area 6f, the TPB invited HKR to resubmit its application. A new public consultation round was held from November 12 to December 3 2021, and the application is due to be heard by the TPB on January 14 2022.

Download the Latest Gist and the meeting Agenda. Also refer to the further information received on 24 December 2021.

A total of 2389 comments were received in the new consultation round, more than in any other round. The vast majority of comments came in a single bundle of 1838 responses, all hand-delivered to the offices of the TPB on 3 December 2021. They run from #6713 to #8550. A simple glance at these 1838 responses will show that they are copied from a prepared set of responses in favour of the application.

Comments that are worth reading in full include #6488 and #6499.

• 6174 to 6300
• 6301 to 6458
• 6459 to 6498
• 6499
• 6500 to 6651
• 6652 to 6753
• 6754 to 6999
• 7000 to 7249
• 7250 to 7549
• 7550 to 7849
• 7850 to 8249
• 8250 to 8550
• 8551 to 8562

The Town Planning Board’s decision on HKR’s right to develop Area 6f at Discovery Bay was overturned by the Court of First Instance at the High Court in a decision announced on Friday, 7 August. The full judgment can be read here.

The TPB appealed, but was unsuccessful. Read the decision here.

The Town Planning Board yesterday denied Hong Kong Resort Company Limited’s request to rezone Area 6f from staff housing to residential development.

In its presentation, Planning Department followed the script contained in the paper that it had prepared for the meeting. It highlighted that Discovery Bay was intended as a low-density residential development and leisure resort, and that HKR had not provided sufficient justification to proceed with the development, especially as HKR still had over 120,000 sq.m. of undeveloped gross floor area in DB North. Ad hoc approval of an individual proposal would create an undesirable precedent, the Department argued.

In response, HKR’s representatives came out swinging. At times hurt, claiming that Planning Department had moved the goalposts; at times combative, claiming that Lands Department was taking far too long to approve its requests; and at times playing fast and loose with the truth, HKR argued strongly that the government departments had all signed off on the proposal, that the development would have no impact on the existing resort atmosphere in DB, and that the two blocks would provide middle-class housing at Yuen Long prices. “Discovery Bay is not a luxury development,” they emphasised.

In the end, HKR’s last-minute appeal (the representatives circulated a private information bundle to members at the meeting, thumbing their noses at the public consultation process) came to naught. Late last night, the TPB posted “Not Agreed” on its website.

The minutes of the meeting should be available in about two weeks.

Note: The minutes are available here.

In a paper prepared for the Town Planning Board meeting on 23 June, Planning Department advised members that it does not support Hong Kong Resort’s (HKR) application to develop Area 6f. The Department gave the following reasons:

Based on the assessment made in paragraph 11 and having taken into account the public comments mentioned in paragraph 10, the Planning Department does not support the application for the following reasons:

(a) there is scope for further residential development under the current OZP as the total maximum domestic gross floor area allowed has yet to be realised. No strong justification has been provided by the applicant for rezoning the Site for residential use; and

(b) approval of the application would set an undesirable precedent for other similar rezoning applications, the accumulative impact of which would further depart from the original development concept of Discovery Bay and overstrain the existing and planned infrastructure capacities for Discovery Bay area.

Download the full paper by clicking on this link.

The Town Planning Board will consider the submission by HKR and the advice of Planning Department at its meeting on 23 June, and make a final decision on the application.