The "Northern Metropolitan Area" will be one of the important land sources for Hong Kong in the future, but this area includes the inner bay of the Deep Bay designated as "Ramsar Wetland". Increase the development density of the wetland buffer zone and lift the restriction on conservation zones that are "prohibited for development".
The report has not yet been released. The newly appointed Secretary for the Environment and Ecology, Tse Chin-wan, pointed out for the first time a few days ago that the wetland conservation area and buffer zone in the northern metropolitan area may be re-delimited.
Changchun Society counted the land planning or rezoning applications in the Deep Bay area in the past 10 years, and found that at least 30 applications were related to wetland conservation areas or buffer zones, involving 20 sites. Of the 10 applications being processed, 9 were last year. In August, the development bureau's "Fengfeng" will be released after the development density of the wetland buffer zone will be relaxed. Nam Sang Wai is the hardest hit area. Most of the proposed plot ratios are higher than the "Wetland Season Park" in Tin Shui Wai, and there are even applications. Far exceeding the existing planning limit by nearly 20 times, the proposed development land in Nanshengwei alone is already the size of 9 Victoria Parks.
The Changchun Society is worried that once the government implements the “lifting of the ban” on wetland buffer zones in the future, or even redefines the boundary, the developer’s responsibility for conservation will be taken away, and the conservation area in the Deep Bay area will be greatly changed. The current ecological value may have some May be dead in name only.
The Changchun Society worries that once the government re-defines the wetland buffer zone, it will also take away the developer's current conservation responsibility.
(Photo by Lin Yingxian)
Changchun Society has collected planning applications in the past 10 years and found that at least 30 applications are related to the Deep Bay area, involving 20 sites, of which 18 have been granted or conditionally granted, 10 applications are being processed, and the remaining two are It has been rejected. Excluding the rejected applications, if all the remaining applications are approved, the land area involved will reach 389 hectares, which is equivalent to 20 Victoria Parks.
Wetland buffer zone may be "surgery", worrying about Deep Bay "development restricted area" turning into luxury residences to drive out migratory birds
The government has stated that it will study the relaxation of development restrictions in the buffer zone. Developers have submitted more housing applications.
It is worth noting that, of the 10 applications being processed, 9 were submitted in or after August last year. Immediately, the current Secretary for Development, Wong Wai-lun, proposed to study the increase in the area ratio of the wetland buffer zone before breaking through the barrier. For rezoning applications, the proposed development density is far higher than the plot ratio limited by the outline plan, with a maximum difference of nearly 20 times, all of which are equal to or even 1.5 times higher than that of the large-scale project Wetland Season Park in Tin Shui Wai. The ecological disaster will far exceed the Mai Po Wetland area.
The hardest hit area facing the loss of the conservation zone is the Nam Sang Wai area. There have been 4 applications since last August, accounting for nearly half of the entire Deep Bay. They are located in Yuen Long Wing Kee Village and the current Tam Mei Community Isolation Facility (fangcang shelter hospital). , South of Wing Kai Village and Ho Chau Road. Among them, the Ho Chau Road project in Yuen Long, which is part of the land sharing plan, has a plot ratio of 4.14 times for public development, a sharp increase of 19.7 times compared with the original density, which is the highest among all the applied projects.
According to statistics from Changchun Society, the proposed development land in Nanshengwei reaches 175 hectares. If all of the proposed development land in Nanshengwei is approved, nearly 30% of Nanshengwei will become a concentration of luxury houses and high-rise buildings, which is equivalent to 9 Victoria Parks, accounting for the entire Deep Bay. Nearly half of the proposed development land in the area will accommodate as many as 66,200 people.
Wetland buffer zone｜Tam Mei in Yuen Long has entered the border to apply for the construction of 36 residential buildings, involving nearly 10,000 people. The first application for wetland buffer zone is after the release.
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Ngau Tam Mei once planned to build an outlet mall. After borrowing the land to build a shelter, it plans to develop a 30-storey building
Wu Xiwen, the public affairs manager of the Changchun Society, pointed out that among the four applications, the biggest change was the Niutanwei site that has now been "transformed" into a makeshift hospital. The site had applied for the construction of large outlet malls and hotels a few years ago. "Outlets are all about the construction scale of shopping malls, and they should be compared." However, after turning into a square cabin, they plan to jump into a building with a height of nearly 30 stories. It is good to match the surrounding environment.” He continued, the developer said that the wetlands in the area would be restored to construct a “wetland creation area”, but the details were lacking. , development and conservation coexist.”
Tanwei Fangcai Hospital is only 3 kilometers away from Deep Bay. "Hong Kong 01" reviewed Google Earth satellite images of Tanwei Fangcang shelter hospital in different periods. Before the land in this area is lent as a Fangcang shelter hospital, it will be seasonally green. The land is covered with green grass, but after the fifth wave of the epidemic broke out in March this year, the land was filled up as soon as it was lent. In the same month, a large number of temporary "container houses" were built for the isolation of confirmed patients.
▼On March 24, the Langtanwei Fangcai Hospital was completed and handed over to the government▼
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When Sun Hung Kai, the owner of the land, applied for the construction of Outlet Malls at the above site a few years ago, the ecological impact report submitted clearly stated that 7 endangered black-faced spoonbills had been recorded flying over the application site, and their flight routes were more consistent with the proposed development. The sites overlap, and the Changchun Society and the Bird Watching Association have expressed their concern at the time that the development will affect the habitat and flight paths of the black-faced spoonbill and other winter migratory birds, and the current development scale is much larger than it was a few years ago, and the impact on migratory birds is even greater. big.
Zhou Aiquan, the public affairs director of the Changchun Society, mentioned that the condition of the fish ponds in the wetland buffer zone in the Deep Bay area is comparable to that of the wetland conservation area, and there are also egret forests in the vicinity, and the black-faced spoonbill, an endangered species, is even in the area of Shanbei Village. Active, proving that the buffer zone also has its conservation value.
Developers offer proposals to solve the housing dilemma, but more than 90% of the projects are all private buildings
She continued to point out that the developer proposed to "surge" the wetlands on the grounds of releasing land for development and solving the dire housing problem in Hong Kong. However, 92% of the 30 pieces of land were private residential projects, questioning the proposal in the Deep Bay area. Development will not help solve the current housing problem, and it is estimated that the current developers are just “testing the water temperature” for future development. Once the government implements the re-delimitation of wetlands, developers will no longer have incentives to carry out conservation, and the development density may be further increased. It will seriously weaken or even lose the ecological value of the conservation zone related to "development prohibited areas".
Wetland rezoning creates a larger and more continuous environment Xie Zhanhuan emphasizes active conservation as a key wetland for rezoning or the rezoning of marginal lands. Development Circle: Worrying about affecting the ecological function of wetlands Xie Zhanhuan Interview | Ideal to redraw the wetland boundary of the northern metropolitan area | Wetland fishermen are subject to 75% rent increase, the group promotes land resumption compensation mechanism and considers the wetland buffer zone | Xindi Shen develops the Tam Mei ring group: once recorded the endangered black-faced spoonbill Worry about underestimating the impact on the wetland buffer zone｜Tam Mei in Yuen Long has entered the border to apply for the construction of 36 residential buildings, involving nearly 10,000 units, and the first application after loosening
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