New Kowloon park design a long way from Central Park

The urban forest rivalling New York's Central Park that was to have graced the West Kowloon Cultural District is reduced to a series of lawns under a cost-cutting design unveiled yesterday.

Money devoted to the park has been halved to HK$1 billion and green coverage of the site reduced from the originally proposed 80 per cent to 60 per cent.

It is a far cry from the 19-hectare forest proposed by world-renowned architect Norman Foster who told the South China Morning Post in 2010: "It's not just about size. It's about quality. It's got to be better than Central Park."

In the latest plan produced by a landscape architectural team appointed by the authority in February, the 5,000 trees will be replaced with an arts pavilion, black box theatre and an outdoor stage.

The plan was produced by a team of two local companies and one from overseas - Dennis Lau & Ng Chun Man Architects & Engineers, ACLA and West 8 from the Netherlands - chosen from seven contenders who submitted designs in 2012.

As well as cutting costs in an effort to cope with a tight budget, the plan is aimed at speeding up provision of arts facilities. Art critic and member of the authority's consultation panel, Ada Wong Ying-kay, said the change was down to the budget.

"We have to move forward. We need a new mentality to manage the park, where free dancing and singing should be allowed," she said.