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Written by: Zhang Jiamin
2021-04-13 20:34
Last update date: 2021-04-13 20:34
Hong Kong is facing land problems. The Legislative Council documents disclosed that there are currently 1,283 unleased government land, involving a total of 322 hectares of land.
Among them, Yuen Long District has the largest amount of land, with 355 pieces of land covering a total of 48 hectares. The Outlying Islands District has the largest area of unleased official land, with nearly 60 hectares of land.
According to information from the authorities, only 26 applications for short-term tenancies from non-governmental organizations have been approved in the past three years, and 70% of the applications have been processed for one year or more.
There are currently 1,283 unleased government land managed by the Lands Department in Hong Kong.
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40% of short-term leases granted to private gardens
According to the Development Bureau, there are currently 1,283 unleased government land managed by the Lands Department, covering a total of 322 hectares. Among them, the Yuen Long District has the largest number of land, with 355 covering a total of 48 hectares, followed by the North District. There are 214 sites covering an area of 29.7 hectares.
In terms of land area, it occupies the most land in outlying islands, reaching 59.9 hectares of unleased official land.
In the 2018 grade of 2019, 1,616 and 1,606 were leased official land, each involving 297 hectares and 391 hectares.
The area and number of unleased official land in 2020 will decrease compared with the previous two years. However, the authorities point out that vacant land since 2020 does not include government land enclosed by land controls.
In the past three years, 343 parcels of land were granted through short-term leases.
Among them, a total of 117 were approved in 2020, of which the most were used for private gardens, accounting for about 40%.
A vacant school building was approved as a township office
According to the current policy, non-governmental organizations can apply for short-term leases to rent vacant government land.
As of the end of February 2021, a total of 940 sites are available for short-term tenancy applications.
According to information from the authorities, a total of 141 applications have been received in the past three financial years, but only 26 of them have been approved, which is less than 20%.
The government launched a funding scheme in February 2019 to set aside $1 billion to support non-governmental organizations in making good use of vacant government land. The plan has received 116 applications as of the end of last year.
Among them, the former Wing On School in Yuen Long was approved to be rented as a township office by the representative of Chongzheng New Village, involving 140 square meters.
In addition, more than 70% of applications require one year or more to process. The project that takes the longest time to process applications involves 60 months. The project is the site of the Kwun Tong Bypass on Hoi Bun Road, Kowloon, leased by the Kwun Tong Sports Promotion Association Limited for non-profit use. Profit-making sports training center and ancillary storage facilities; and the application for the former Camoys School in Kowloon also takes 58 months. The project is leased by the Hong Kong Repertory Theatre for performing arts purposes.
In order to strengthen the management of short-term leases, the Lands Department will soon launch a project to update the lease information system, which is expected to be completed by 2023.
Fanling Golf Course has aroused concern about the "Private Playground Contract".
(Photo/Photo by Zheng Zifeng)
The Hong Kong Yacht Club is approved for expiration in the underground month
The government grants land to organizations to provide facilities for recreational purposes through the "Private Pleasure Land Lease". Earlier, the site of the Fanling Golf Course attracted public attention.
According to the authorities, as of the end of last year, there were 66 private playground land leases, of which 6 had expired and made transitional arrangements before the expiry; the other 11 had not yet expired or were approved for renewal, of which the fastest expiration was in The small island off Deep Water Bay, the deed held by the Hong Kong Yacht Club, will expire on May 24 this year; on Nanlangshan Shenwan Road, the 2,277 square meters of land now granted to the Aberdeen Yacht Club, It will also expire on December 25 this year.
The land used by the Hong Kong Yacht Club in Flatiron.
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Many idle government land basking groups in the Central and Western District plan short-term leases and are repeatedly blocked, urging to simplify the approval process
The group reveals that the nearby unused government land in the new housing estate is equivalent to 61 basketball courts and promotes the allocation of public welfare needs
Nearly 250,000 square feet of unused government land in Hung Shui Bridge refused to apply for community activities, urged the government to make good use of land
[Land Debate] Idle Crown Land Option Has Been Disappeared
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Lands Administration Office, Lands Department, Development Bureau