Artificial beach in Lung Mei gets green light despite environmental worries
Green campaigners against an artificial beach at Lung Mei lose challenge against the government's refusal to revoke a permit for works to begin
Plans to build a man-made beach at Lung Mei in Tolo Harbour cleared a legal hurdle yesterday, when the courts dismissed a judicial challenge filed by green activists striving to protect the local ecology.
The activists vowed to consider other options to preserve the coastal area in Tai Po, although they had not decided whether to appeal against the ruling.
"We are extremely dismayed by the judgment," Ho Loy, who lodged the judicial review on behalf of the Save Lung Mei Alliance, said after the Court of First Instance delivered its verdict.
"As for whether [further] legal action is the best option, we'll have to study it as a team first, but if we can find a better way, we will definitely choose that."
The idea of an artificial beach at Lung Mei came from Tai Po District Council, which wanted to cater for residents without access to a bathing beach. It will stretch for 200 metres, with room for 4,000 swimmers.
Activists doubt the ecological value of the site has been properly assessed, after they registered sightings of a rare seahorse and rare species of fish in the area.
Their application for the judicial review came long after the Environmental Protection Department issued a permit back in 2010 for works to start and after lawmakers had approved project funds of HK$200 million in 2012.
