Explainer | What next for controversial plan to build public housing on exclusive Hong Kong golf course?
- Latest government move has sparked questions on whether it will proceed with the plan, among proposals to ease city’s long-standing housing crunch
- Hong Kong Golf Club backed by society heavyweights in bid to save course, but others point to long wait for public housing and consensus reached earlier on proposal
A controversial plan to build thousands of public housing flats on part of an exclusive golf course is back under the spotlight after the Hong Kong government on Monday said it would revise the scheme and temporarily change the site’s proposed use from “residential” to “undetermined”.
The government’s move has sparked questions on whether it will proceed with the plan, among efforts to fix the city’s long-standing housing shortage, while the Hong Kong Golf Club and heavyweights from different sectors are increasing their efforts to save the earmarked section of the 172-hectare Fanling course from redevelopment.
The Post examines the twists and turns of the proposal.
1. What’s the plan?
The scheme was among short- to medium-term proposals suggested five years ago by the now-defunct Task Force on Land Supply, which launched a months-long public debate on tackling the shortage of housing sites during then chief executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor’s term in office.
Before Lam’s term ended last June, the government laid out its plans for the 32-hectare (79-acre) Old Course at Fanling, with the golf club to return the land. The plan involves a 9.5-hectare site earmarked for building 12,000 public housing flats for about 33,600 people by 2029, with the remaining area reserved for recreational and conservation uses.
The exclusive Hong Kong Golf Club, which will return the Old Course to the government in September, strongly opposes the plan. It says the ecology of the city’s oldest golf course will be damaged.
Politicians, businessmen and housing advisers are among those backing the club. Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee, convenor of Hong Kong’s top decision-making Executive Council and a club member, previously urged the government to abandon the plan.
2. What are the latest developments?
The government on Monday said it would temporarily change the proposed use of the 9.5-hectare site from “residential” to “undetermined” to buy time for amending the housing layout and density as requested by environmental authorities.
The Environmental Protection Department last month approved the plan on condition its visual impact was minimised and 0.4 hectares of woodland were preserved in accordance with suggestions by the Advisory Council on the Environment.
