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Fanling Golf Course|Earth Advisory Committee members approve that the woods have been levelled and the Land Development Department: Houses can be built with low ecological value

2022-08-08T12:49:42.799Z


The 32 hectares of the Fanling Golf Course are expected to be returned to the government in September next year. The government plans to build 12,000 public housing on the northernmost quarter of the land, which will cut down nearly 1,000 trees.


The 32 hectares of the Fanling Golf Course is expected to be returned to the government in September next year. The government plans to build 12,000 public housing on the northernmost quarter of the site, which will cut down nearly 1,000 trees. The Town Planning Board has already given the green light to the plan.

However, Ye Liu Shuyi, the convener of the Executive Council with a membership of the golf club, expressed her opposition to the proposed development yesterday (7th).


The Environmental Advisory Committee met today (8th) to review the environmental assessment report of the Fanling Golf Course. Members questioned that the authorities did not accommodate the location of the trees in the design layout, resulting in nearly 1,000 trees being felled. They also worried that the authorities would further "step into "Other districts with higher ecological value.


The representative of the Civil Engineering and Development Department responded that even if the environmental impact assessment report of the golf course was taken into account, the ecological value of the proposed development area was still relatively low, and the current design layout and tree survey were only at the preliminary stage, and funding would be applied to the Legislative Council in the future. A detailed report will be submitted.


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When introducing the EIA report at the meeting, Chief Engineer of the Civil Engineering and Development Department, Chung Wing-kung, mentioned that Zone 1, the northernmost 11 hectares of land to be developed for public housing, has no recorded animals and plants of conservation value, and its ecological value is relatively low. Therefore, the ecological value of the area is assessed as "low to moderate".

Chung continued to point out that even though the latest EIA study submitted by the Fanling Golf Club showed that more animals and plants with conservation value could be found, the ecological value assessed by the authorities had not changed. Development is also a common practice, so it is considered that building housing in "low to moderate" Zone 1 is in line with the previous requirements of the authorities.

The Environmental Advisory Committee meets to consider the environmental assessment report of the Fanling Golf Course.

(Photo by Liang Pengwei)

Members urged to reorganize the distribution pattern of buildings to avoid cutting thousands of trees

The EIA report mentioned that the “surgery” will be carried out in Division 1, which has mixed forest land and forest land. Only mixed forest land and 267 trees will be retained. About 34 trees are recommended to be transplanted, and the remaining 954 trees are recommended to be removed. 1.7% of the overall golf course.

Several committee members criticized the authorities for sticking to the rules in the layout of public housing, insisting on adopting a butterfly-shaped design, and failing to accommodate the trees in the forest land, so that Block 4 directly "steps on" the forest land, causing nearly a thousand trees to be cut down, urging the authorities Moving the fourth block to the south can avoid the ecological crisis of cutting down trees, and criticized the authorities for not having detailed habitat conservation and compensation plans.

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Members worry that the government will “step into” zones with higher ecological value in the future

Zhong Yongkang responded that the housing layout design of the Housing Department is still in the preliminary stage, and the project is expected to start construction in 2024 at the earliest. Therefore, the current EIA and tree survey are only preliminary assessments. It is expected that another detailed tree survey will be conducted by the end of this year. The species, location and quantity of trees that will be cut down will be listed in more detail, and the report will be available for review by the Finance Committee of the Legislative Council in the future.

He also emphasized that the EPD, as the "guardian" department of environmental protection, will have strict approval procedures.

In addition, some members questioned that the authorities said that in addition to the relatively low ecological value of District 1, the construction was carried out in this area on the grounds that the parking lot, staff quarters, etc. had been developed in District 1, and the adjacent land had been developed. Using this as an excuse, "step into" the 2nd to 4th major construction projects in districts with high ecological value.

Zhong Yongkang pointed out that there is a "shanzai" in the middle of zone 1 and zone 2, and there are small trees on it. He believes that as long as there is a proper layout, it will not affect other zones. The area around the Longyuan Wetland has also been developed one after another. There is no significant impact on the land, so the proposed public housing development is considered to have little impact on the environment.

Looking at the environmental assessment study report published by the Environmental Protection Agency in May, the study divided the site into 4 areas, of which divisions 2 and 3 have records of important mammals, such as leopard cats and little Indian civet cats, the latter being closer to the northern end of Anpu. Woodland; and Zone 4 also has the protected species Agarwood, the endangered species Glyptostrobus pensilis, and swamps and swampy woodlands.

Therefore, the ecological value of zones 2 to 4 is rated as medium, or medium to high.

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The report concluded that housing development potential in zones 2 to 4 is expected to be limited given the existing transport infrastructure, transport connectivity, rural setting and slender terrain.

However, Zone 1, which is located at the northernmost end of the area, is considered to have relatively low ecological value in the report, so it is recommended to develop housing development in this area.

However, Division 1 also has forest land and mixed forest land. The report recommends implementing mitigation measures, such as compensation for planting about 5.1 hectares of forest land, to reduce the impact of habitat loss.

The report outlines the tentative implementation plan, which reveals that it will be developed in five phases.

According to the data, public housing, schools, related roads, and infrastructure works are expected to be completed by 2029 at the latest.

However, there is no clear timetable for the recreation and conservation areas located in Zones 2 to 4, only that it is "subject to further review".

Fanling Golf Course|Government revises plan to strengthen conservation and rejects BBQ camping Town Planning Board gives green light The research institute approves double standards, only 9 hectares are reserved for building Fanling Golf Course, 32 hectares are reserved for building, 60% is left for conservation, and there is no timetable for conservation. Groups worry about "walking" the Fanling Golf Course. 32 hectares will be returned next year. public sector

Source: hk1

All news articles on 2022-08-08

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