Following is a question by the Hon Alan Leong and a reply by the Secretary for Housing, Planning and Lands, Mr Michael Suen, in the Legislative Council today (November 3):
Question:
The Town Planning Board ("TPB") received an application in July this year to alter the planned land use of a lot at Ap Lei Chau waterfront from the existing "Other Specified Uses" annotated "Liquefied Petroleum Gas And Oil Products Transit Depot" to "Residential (Group A)". It is learnt that many nearby residents object to the proposed residential development project. In regard to land zoned for "Other Specified Uses", will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the criteria adopted by relevant departments and TPB in considering applications for rezoning the land from "Other Specified Uses" to residential or commercial uses; and among those criteria, of the weight of factors such as "objection from nearby residents", "adequacy of amenities in the area in which the lot is situated" as well as "additional road traffic load brought about by development upon changes in land uses";
(b) given that there are normally provisions in the leases of land zoned for "Other Specified Uses" which provide that the Government may resume the land once it had ceased to be used for the specified uses for over 12 months, whether the authorities have resumed any land on such grounds in the past five years; and
(c) of the current number of pieces of private lands zoned for "Other Specified Uses" that were granted through land exchange or directly by way of private treaty, and the total area thereof?
Reply¡G
Madam President,
At the outset, I wish to provide some basic information concerning the lot cited in the question. The lot is Ap Lei Chau Marine Lot No. 63, granted by the Government by way of land exchange in 1988. The permitted use under the Conditions of Exchange is for "a distribution and transit handling centre for petroleum products and a liquefied petroleum gas compound". According to the relevant outline zoning plan, the lot is zoned for "Other Specified Uses" annotated "Liquefied Petroleum Gas and Oil Products Transit Depot". Earlier on, the Town Planning Board (TPB) received an application for rezoning the lot. But the applicant later requested that the consideration of the application be deferred. As such, the existing use of the lot remains unchanged both in terms of zoning and lease conditions.
My reply to the three-part question is as follows:
(a) Under the Town Planning Ordinance, the TPB is responsible for the preparation of town plans and the consideration and approval of individual planning applications. In considering a rezoning request, the TPB will take into account all relevant factors. These include the planning intention for the area in the relevant outline zoning plan and the various possible impacts of the proposed development on traffic, environment, infrastructure, community facility and open space provisions in the area. The TPB will also consider the local views and the professional advice provided by relevant Government departments. Each application will be considered on its own merits. The TPB will take into account the above factors carefully before making a decision.
(b) "Other Specified Uses" is a planning concept. Such description is not used in land leases. The permitted use of a site will be set out clearly in the lease conditions. In this case, for example, it is specified in the land lease that the lot can only be used as "a distribution and transit handling centre for petroleum products and a liquefied petroleum gas compound".
In the past five years, there has not been any case of re-entry of land by the Government on the ground that the land concerned has ceased to be used for the specified purposes.
(c) As retrieval of data takes time, I can only provide more recent data. From 1 January 1999 to 30 September 2004, a total of 28 sites zoned for "Other Specified Uses" were granted either through land exchange or by way of private treaty, involving a total area of about 1.86 million square metres.
Ends/Wednesday, November 3, 2004
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