保 護 海 岸 協 會

JOINT PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

19-7-2004

SPH + SOS + CTA

Demand for Good Governance

The Society for Protection of the Harbour (SPH), Save Our Shorelines (SOS) and Clear the Air (CTA), jointly urge Chief Executive Donald Tsang’s and his Administration to practise good governance by ensuring that the town planning process is open, transparent and fair. In submitting their respective requests for the rezoning of Central District (Extension) Outline Zoning Plan (CDOZP) the three NGOs are disappointed with the new Tsang Administration in not having put the Chief Executive’s campaign promises into practice.

Furthermore, they urge the non-official members of the Town Planning Board (TPB) to act independently, thoroughly, and objectively when deciding on the three NGO’s requests for rezoning on 22 July 2005.

The common thread running through each of the submission is that the CDOZP needs to be revised to reflect public sentiments for a low density area on and around the Central Reclamation Phase III (CRIII) project. According to the C D OZP, there will be SIX development zones slated to provide 1,212,500 sq. m. (13.04 million sq. ft.) of commercial and office space, a large portion of which will come from new reclamation. Thus, the current CDOZP allows for substantial new development that will impose on Central additional traffic, congestion, noise, and air pollution. Those massive developments will also alter the “feel” of Central for the worse. The best way to prevent large developments in the area is to revise the CDOZP. The three NGOs note that their submissions accord with the views of other community organizations, most notably the Harbour Business Forum.

The three NGOs urge the TPB to use the new amendments to the Town Planning Ordinance, which allows open meetings, to hear their submissions in the open because the CDOZP affects the whole of Hong Kong as the Central Business District, and public sentiments favours open spaces rather than large developments. Since the amended legislation has come into effect, the three NGOs are extremely disappointed that the TPB still refused to hear their rezoning request in the open.

“The government presented to LegCo a picture of openness in asking the legislature to pass new legislation. Yet, the new legislation is not being used. This is regrettable. It shows the authorities say one thing and do another when it does not suit them to be open and transparent,” says Christine Loh, chairperson of SPH. Loh expresses regret also that SPH has not been allowed to present their submission to the TPB.

Loh wonders how it is possible for SPH’s submission to be fairly considered if as the party making the submission it is disallowed from presenting its case. “We have done a lot of detailed work for the submission. Who is going to present our case then? We know the government is not in favour of our proposal. It is hard for us not to think our exclusion from the TPB meeting is deliberate,” Loh adds.

John Bowden of SOS points out that the TPB meeting will be chaired by Mrs. Rita Lau, the Permanent Secretary for the Housing, Planning and Lands Bureau (Planning and Lands). “Mrs. Lau should let the vice-chairman chair the meeting to avoid conflict of interest. The government is the proponent of the current CDOZP. It should make sure fairness is done and seen to be done when the TPB considers the submissions by removing itself as chairman,” he says. He points out that SPH has made a formal request in this regard but the government claims it has legal advice that there is no conflict of interest but no reasons are given.

Ms. Connell points out: “The government response to our submission contains factual errors. Who will point this out to the TPB members if we cannot attend the hearing? ”

Chief Executive Tsang repeatedly pledged that he and his Administration will practice good governance during his selection campaign. “We want those campaign promises kept. In our view, good governance means having public processes that are open, transparent and fair. The Tsang Administration has shown anything but open, transparent and fair in the way it has dealt with our submissions”, says Loh of SPH.

The three NGOs urge the non-official members of the TPB to take a balanced view, be protective of the public interest and be responsive to public opinion in reviewing the submissions. The three groups are not giving up and continue to urge the TPB to agree to open meetings and allow all three parties to make direct presentations to members.

The three submissions are all well supported by expert studies and reflect the public’s expression of how CRIII should be used:

• SPH’s submission calls for reducing the size of the reclamation, reducing the size of the P2 road networks and objects to potential large developments allowed under the CDOZP.
• SOS urges a 50%–70% reduction in the current zoned reclamation through using an immersed tube tunnel to build the Central Wanchai Bypass, and a substantial reduction in the P2 road networks.
• CTA proposes an immediate implementation of Electronic Road Pricing to reduce traffic congestion thereby lessening the need for new roads.

The current CDOZP allows the building of a 4/6-lane highway (CWB), a substantial surface highway network (P2), a massive “Groundscrapper” that has as much potential square footage as IFC2, as well as a massive development in front of City Hall. The government’s promised open spaces and a promenade are subsidiary to these massive constructions.

For any enquiries, please contact Angus Ho at 3101 819 1 or Elizabeth Chan at 9 741-0652.