I have mentioned several times that Discovery Bay is unique in Hong Kong, in that the development on the Lot is not limited under the lease. Instead, development is controlled through two documents, the Master Plan and the DMC. The Master Plan controls the what and where. The DMC controls how much, through the share regime under the DMC.

In respect of the Master Plan, Lands Department exercises control over development through Special Condition 6(b) of the Land Grant, which states: “…no alterations whatsoever shall be made by the Grantee to the Master Layout Plan or to the development or any redevelopment without the prior consent in writing of the Secretary…”

In addition, the Master Plan controls use through Special Condition No. 7, which states “…the lot or any part thereof or any building or buildings erected or to be erected thereon shall not be used and the Grantee shall not permit or suffer the use thereof for any purpose other than for the purposes … indicated on the Master Layout Plan.”

Thus, the Master Plan is the key to understanding and controlling the development on the Lot.

However, a review of the “6” series master plans posted at the sidebar makes it clear that Lands Department has allowed considerable development to take place without requiring the developer to obtain prior approval through the Master Plan.

To take one obvious example, Central Park is not a permitted use of land at N1 under MP 6.0E1, as there was no provision for “Public Recreation” within N1 under the Plan. Only in recent years are the draft master plans catching up to the actual development on the Lot.

Even under draft MP 6.0E7g, Central Park is improperly shown as Open Space/Public Recreation and coloured light green. Only on the most recent drafts is Central Park (N7) properly shown as Public Recreation and coloured dark green. The colours represent  the uses shown on the Legend on the right of the Plan.

The fact that development of Central Park was allowed to proceed without proper control under the Master Plan had significant financial implications for the small owners and residents of Discovery Bay. Between 2002 and 2012, owners and residents were charged for the upkeep of Central Park, as it was not officially recognised as “Public Recreation”. Only when Lands Department required HKR to sign the Undertaking was this burden removed.

The total cost to the small owners and residents during that 10-year period was well over $15 million.

I have now added a number of Supplementary Master Plans (SMPs) to the menu at the left, directly under the Master Plans.

As described in the Director of Audit Report, these show the detail of the development on the Lot. But they do much more. Together with the Master Plans, they control the development on the Lot. DB is the only development in Hong Kong where there is no limit or control on development in the lease.

The Audit Report highlights that the cable car system that was supposed to have been installed in DB was removed in one of the early SMPs, thus removing the obligation to provide the cable car under the lease. (This happened after the first owners had moved in to DB, and surely must be one of the very few times that the Government has permitted a change to the lease conditions after a DMC had been executed.)

Of the SMPs included here, the most interesting is the one for DB Plaza (Area 9a). This is the only official documentation that I know of that shows the location of the Public Recreational Facilities in Area 9a, including the Recreation Deck, the North Promenade, the Seafront Plaza and the South Promenade.

As you will note, the PRF are detailed very clearly. The tables on the SMP even record how the PRF were re-allocated over time. Given this level of detail, I find it quite surprising that the Director of Audit would state in his report that: “As the Lands D had no record of the specific replacement public  recreational facilities provided by Developer A, it asked Developer A to provide details of the facilities” (emphasis added).

The SMP is dated 24 April, 1997, while the Director of Audit asked Lands Department for confirmation of the PRF in June 2002. Was there no one left in Lands Department who knew about the SMP for Area 9a and the important role that it played?

Certainly, the SMP has never been updated since 1997, in contrast to the careful record of changes maintained throughout the 1990s.

Siena 1 SMP is also interesting as it shows the development concept for DB before the Disneyland project was given the go-ahead. With Disneyland, a restrictive covenant was imposed on DB limiting building heights over much of the Lot and also limiting development in the upland areas. As a result, the next phases of development will all take place at DB North near the tunnel, as detailed in MP 7.0E.

The Approval Letter for the development under Master Plan 6.0E1, which was approved on 28 February, 2000,  is now posted in the sidebar at the left. In the Approval Letter, the Government imposed a new definition for the term Gross Building Area (GBA), with severe adverse consequences for the owners of properties in DB.

Discovery Bay is a unique resort-style residential development on the north-east coast of Lantau Island, Hong Kong. It is the brainchild of Hong Kong Resort Company Limited (HKR) and its legendary founder, Cha Chi Ming (1914-2007).

That is both the beauty and the downfall of Discovery Bay. With a single developer, a unique vision could be implemented. With a single developer, one vision and one way prevails.

Unfortunately, the foundations of Discovery Bay have been forgotten over time, providing HKR an opportunity to re-write history and change the course of development. The aim of this website is to dig out the forgotten documents and explore their meaning, for all who may be interested.

To begin, I have uploaded all the master plans from 5.0 through to the latest draft, 7.0E. The current master plan is 6.0E1, dated 28 February, 2000. All subsequent plans are drafts.

The master plans have a unique role in the development of DB. Under the land grant, there is no limit to development on the Lot. Development is controlled through the master plan; development is limited through the share regime described in the Discovery Bay Deed of Mutual Covenant.

Over time, I will upload more documents and more commentary. Hopefully, it will all start to make sense — eventually