Planning board should reject Hopewell's Wan Chai project
Hopewell Holdings' application to turn its previously approved plan for a hotel on Queen's Road East into what is effectively a convention and exhibition centre, is due to be heard by the Town Planning Board this Friday.
Hopewell Holdings' application to turn its previously approved plan for a hotel on Queen's Road East into what is effectively a convention and exhibition centre, is due to be heard by the Town Planning Board this Friday, though we understand Hopewell has asked for it to be deferred.
As we've noted before, the proposed alterations have aroused considerable anger among local residents since this matter was assumed to have been settled in 2008 as a result of a deal brokered by Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor when she was secretary for development. Previous applications by Hopewell for convention and exhibition facilities were rejected by the Town Planning Board before 2008. That alone should be a reason to reject the new application. But it is also the case that a convention and exhibition centre is not a permitted use in this planning zone and requires a completely different application. But Hopewell is trying to bamboozle the Town Planning Board and the public by describing the application as merely "minor refinement and enhancement" to the already approved hotel project.
Retired High Court judge William Waung, who has objected to the application, describes Hopewell's approach to the project as "the salami slice approach to planning. You get what you want one piece at a time. If the application is approved its convention theatre will be considerably larger than the theatre at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre".
Kennedy Road residents, particularly the Kennedy Road Protection Group (KRPG), have fought Hopewell's plans for more than 10 years because access to this monster development is to be through Kennedy Road. Indeed, one of the reasons why Hopewell's previous proposals were rejected was because the Transport Department took the view that Kennedy Road couldn't handle the traffic levels associated with a convention centre. However, the tone of the executive summary suggests that Hopewell is doing the public a favour with its scheme.
One of the "enhancements" that Hopewell is claiming for its plans is the "essential public passage" and "amenity area" that will run along the front of the podium of Hopewell Centre II. But the objection letter by the KRPG refutes Hopewell's claims, noting that it is "ludicrous" for Hopewell to suggest that such a public passage is necessary to overcome congestion in the area. It further says that if built the alleyway will merely be a trap for the bad air discharged from the kitchen and restaurant exhausts on Queen's Road East: "It will be a stinking dark alley which attempts to take consumers away from the small shops on Queen's Road East and the Wan Chai side streets."
In addition to providing access to its retail facilities, Hopewell also hopes to get bonus plot ratio for the area in an effort to exceed the already agreed gross floor area. The KRPG's objection points to many more examples where the developer claims to be providing a "public gain" but the real gain appears to go to the developer.
Another is a spurious claim that the project will provide a "missing link" between Wan Chai and Kennedy Road. But the KRPG objection says that there are already a number of paths linking the two areas. Even before the project has got properly started the developer has already destroyed 40 mature Banyan trees and has destroyed one of the best examples of heritage steps in Hong Kong in tearing up the seven-metre wide Ship Street steps. It is to be hoped the Town Planning Board upholds its duty of care to the community and does not roll over in the face of an application from a big developer who wants to make loads of money out of a project that is already ruining the character of the area.
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