HKR has submitted a revised application to the Town Planning Board. Shockingly, they have completely ignored the many significant and well-researched comments made by residents of Discovery Bay during the previous two rounds of public consultation.
To make new comments to the Town Planning Board on Area 6f (area behind Parkvale), or resubmit your previous comments, visit http://www.info.gov.hk/tpb/en/plan_application/Y_I-DB_2.html. Alternatively, you may submit your comments by email at tpbpd@pland.gov.hk. If submitting by email, include the reference “Y/I-DB/2” in the subject line.
The deadline for submissions is 9 December, 2016. The revised date of the Town Planning Board meeting to consider the Area 6f application is 13 January, 2017.
At the Town Planning Board Meeting on 26 August, the TPB once again agreed to defer a decision on the 6a and 10b applications submitted by Hong Kong Resort Company Limited (HKR).
Judging from the instructions at the time of the last deferment, HKR will likely have two months to submit a revised application, and another round of public consultation will be carried out in October/November.
One interesting bit of news from the meeting. Before proceeding to the next item, the members met in a private session that was not open to members of the public. No details of the discussion during the private session are available, but it may relate to the invalidated public submissions from the last round. The TPB struck off a number of submissions before the meeting because the identity of the author could not be verified.
HKR has asked that consideration of its applications for rezoning of Area 6f and 10b be deferred once again. The Town Planning Board (TPB) will consider HKR’s request at its meeting on Friday, 26 August, starting at 2:30pm.
When the TPB granted HKR’s request for deferment last time, at the meeting on 13 May, 2016, the minutes of the meeting stated that:
“The Committee also agreed to advise the applicant that two months were allowed for preparation of the submission of the further information, and no further deferment would be granted unless under very special circumstances.”
Let’s see whether the TPB grants HKR’s request for a second deferment or not.
The comments on the second round of public consultation by the Town Planning Board (TPB) on the Area 6f and 10b development proposals from Hong Kong Resort Company Limited (HKR) are now available for viewing at the TPB offices in North Point.
A total of 2,234 responses were received for 6f in Round 2 (2,257 for Round 1), and 2,330 for 10b (2,149 for Round 1).
Submissions 2863 to 4139 for Area 6f, or 57.1% of the total, were received in a single bundle submitted by hand to the TPB at the same time. All are in favour of the proposal and, judging from the nature of the comments, come from people outside DB.
The Parkvale Village Owners Committee (VOC) has submitted a major review of the Area 6f development proposal to the Town Planning Board in the latest round of public consultation on HKR’s application to amend the Discovery Bay Outline Zoning Plan, which ended at midnight on 15 July.
No submission was made by the Peninsula VOC. In fact, the topic was not even on the agenda of the Peninsula VOC meeting of 5 July. This is surprising, as the Area 10b plan proposes that a Sewage Treatment Works be built at the entrance to Peninsula Village, after levelling the existing wooded hillock.
HKR’s consultant, Masterplan Limited, submitted HKR’s reply to the public comments to the Secretariat of the Town Planning Board on 6th June, 2016. In the covering letter, it said:
We have also reviewed the public comments received during notification of the application. It is considered that many of the concerns raised are also addressed in the response to the departmental comments, and does not require separation response. However, we would like to specifically address few issues in Annex E in the enclosure.
The claim that many of the concerns raised in the public consultation are addressed in the departmental comments and does not require separation response (sic) is disrespectful of those who submitted their comments during the public consultation and disrespectful of the town planning process. Continue reading “We value your comments…”→
In its original submission, HKR clung to the hope that Areas 6f and 10b would be served by government water. Alternate supply proposals were sketched out in the briefest terms.
Now that the government has confirmed that it will not supply potable water to the new developments, it is essential that HKR provide detailed studies and plans to show that its proposals are viable – before the TPB approves the rezoning application.
Water Supplies Department (WSD) is far from convinced of the viability of HKR’s proposals. In its comment on the HKR proposal, it stated “…we have reservation on the rationality of this arrangement…”. Continue reading Time for a little rationality→
The existing zoning for Area 10b includes an LPG store/dangerous goods store. The HKR proposal will remove this zoning.
Serious concerns were raised about the deletion of the LPG store/dangerous goods store in the previous round of public comments on the new development proposals. However, HKR did not respond to the comments and has given no information on the location of replacement facilities. Continue reading Dangerous game→
HKR proposes that members of the public shall have full access to the open space at Areas 6f and 10b. The Town Planning Board should pay due attention to the relevant provisions under the Land Grant and the DMC when considering these proposals.
If the proposals for provision of public open space are approved, the TPB should set out clear conditions specifying that HKR and HKR alone shall be responsible for all maintenance and management of the public areas. This is the established practice in DB, and must be maintained in all future developments. Continue reading Public Playground→
Ultimate Data Resource for Discovery Bay, Hong Kong
