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Written by: Commentary Editing Room
2021-06-10 17:35
Last update date: 2021-06-10 17:37
On Wednesday (9th), the local research association and Greenpeace published a study, criticizing the government for not having the latest data on brownfields and condoning the expansion of brownfields.
Civilian investigations reflect the government's many problems in land management and administration. Among them, the Planning Department and the Lands Department are duty-bound.
According to recent surveys by the two organizations, there are about 1,958 hectares of brownfields in Hong Kong, which is about 20% more than the 1,579 hectares announced by the government in 2019.
There are several reasons for the discrepancy between the two data.
First, the consultant commissioned by the government used the data from the early years to calculate the area of brownfields. Afterwards, the brownfields gradually expanded, but the government did not update the figures. As a result, the total area was underestimated.
Second, some brownfields are close to the urban area and are not within the scope of the government's research at that time.
Third, the government did not count brownfields that have been re-covered by vegetation.
In addition, new investigations revealed that the brownfields in the neighbouring Wo Yihe Village are extending into the country park.
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The government may not even know the area of existing brownfields
Even though the consultant's report and the private investigation methods cannot be completely analogized, the private investigation raises several important problems.
The most important thing is whether the government has the latest brownfield area and status?
The consultant's report was studied from 2017 to 2018, but for example, the brownfield group in Xintian Xinxinyuan, the consultant only used the 2015 map to calculate the area of the brownfield, which was estimated to be 3.52 hectares, and the brownfield group has been expanding since then , The research team estimates that the area has increased to 6 hectares.
In response to media enquiries, the Planning Department stated that land activities in the New Territories will change over time and will continue to be monitored.
However, the department did not respond to whether the government keeps the latest records and whether the records will be made public.
If not, it means that the Planning Department is just talking, and the government has no control over land use changes including the area of brownfields and ground operations.
When organizing an on-site investigation, it was noticed that the Environmental Protection Department had issued a notice of illegal placement of construction waste in December 2019 regarding illegal operations on brownfields near Xinxin Park.
This case has led the outside world to speculate that government departments have the ability to continuously update brownfield information. The exchange of inspection and enforcement information between various departments is an effective method, but they have a high chance of not doing so.
Many rural areas are only included in the outline zoning plan in the planning, but not regulated by the development approval area map.
(Profile picture / Hong Kong 01)
The resumption of brownfields to build houses is to live up to the public
The political circles are eager to discuss finding land to build houses. Now the government is neglecting brownfields, directly underestimating the potential for housing production, and also underestimating the opportunities for the integration and development of the scattered brownfield clusters.
At present, the use of brownfields is chaotic, and many of them pollute the environment. The authorities should give priority to development, and then consider the development of green space or reclamation.
The government has to reclaim and re-plan the brownfields, and at the same time prevent the emergence of new brownfields, especially the spread in country parks.
The problem is that the current legislation cannot prevent the production of brownfields.
For many years, private groups have advocated the government to reclaim brownfields. They have also proposed to amend the "Town Planning Ordinance" to include all rural areas in a legally effective development approval area map, giving the Planning Department the power to enforce laws on illegal development in rural areas, thereby regulating land use.
However, this move has been strongly opposed by groups such as rural affairs for many years, and the law only allows government departments to take action against illegal operations on brownfields.
The Development Bureau has earlier finalized eight brownfield clusters suitable for public housing use.
(Photo by Liang Pengwei)
The investigations conducted by the Local Research Agency and Greenpeace are directed at the Planning Department, but the Lands Department has also been sloppy about illegal brownfield operations in the past.
In the past, in many brownfields, illegal operations still existed after the Planning Department issued letters such as enforcement notices and reinstatement notices.
The Lands Department said in March this year that it had selected 100 official land operation black spots that had been illegally turned into brownfields, and 77 of them had been cleaned up in December last year.
Since there are too many illegal brownfields, the 100 targets set by the department are too low. Among them, only six of the victims were charged. It is clear that the law has no deterrent effect.
Hong Kong’s land policy only stays at the land development policy. Land management and administration are still quite backward. The consequence is that precious land resources are either misused or left unused. This is not only unfair to law-abiding businesses, but also shameful to grassroots citizens waiting to settle down. .
The government no longer has any reason to delay. It must promptly improve laws and regulations and crack down on all illegal land developments.
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