To
Town Planning Board,
I would urge the Town Planning Board to reject the Government’s amendment to The Approved Pok Fu Lam Outline Zoning Plan No. S / H10 / 15 on the matters shown on the plan, that is, Items D and Item E in Draft Pok Fu Lam Outline Zoning Plan No. S / H10 / 16, the reasons are as follows:
Three “Rehousing Sites” are Enough to Rebuild Wah Fu Estate, Why Five “Rehousing Sites” are Needed?
The Government has already been able to plan and build the first batch of 3,610 relocation units on three “Relocation Sites”, that is Item A ( a site between Pok Fu Lam Road and Victoria Road), Item B (a site at Wah King Street), and Item C (a site at Wah Lok Path) of totaling 2.8 hectares. When these units are built for relocating existing Wah Fu Estates’ residents, based on the ‘Build New Housing then Demolish Old Housing’ model, the phases of on-site Wah Fu Estate redevelopment can be kicked off.
There is no need to rezone Item D and Item E – Kai Lung Wan Greenbelts and to clear the greenbelts for rehousing usage by felling 2,400 trees. Depleting greenbelts should not be one and only one option to rebuild Wah Fu Estate, and it is not in line with the principle of effective use of the existing greenbelts’ resources.
2,400 Trees Felled by the Government Equivalent to Wiping Out 90% Trees in Victoria Park
The Government has planned to fell existing 2400 trees on the site of Item D and Item E – Kai Lung Wan Greenbelt. The consequences: a large number trees purifying polluted air will be lost in this densely populated district; the wildlife habitat connected to nearby country parks will be wiped out; the greenbelt’s ecosystem services for the well-being of residents will be disappeared; it will further intensify the heat island effect on Pok Fu Lam South.
The site of Item D and Item E – Kai Lung Wan Greenbelt’s Functions be Retained
Trees are very important to ecosystem balance and are also important assets of nature. Retaining the original greenbelt functions (ecological conservation, natural landscape, buffering and recreational) not only protects the water sources of Aberdeen Reservoir, Country Parks, and nearby ecological areas but also reduce the heat Island effect on Pok Fu Lam South. The greenbelts are also essential to the physical health and mental well-being of residents.
Our Wah Fu Estate Redevelopment Proposal:
In the face of global climate warming and heat island effect brought about by urbanization, we believe that the conservation of greenbelts for next generations – i.e. not destroying greenbelts and ‘city lung’ as a planning principle, is the direction of long-term sustainable development. Therefore, it is recommended that:
- Use the three “Relocation Sites”, that is Item A ( a site between Pok Fu Lam Road and Victoria Road), Item B (a site at Wah King Street), and Item C (a site at Wah Lok Path) of totaling 2.8 hectares, to build the first batch of 3,610 relocation units for relocating existing Wah Fu Estate’s residents. Based on the ‘Build New Housing then Demolish Old Housing’ model, the phases of on-site Wah Fu Estate redevelopment could be kicked off earlier.
- Developing brownfield sites at first priority as land planning principle;
- Expanding Wah Fu Estate can be implemented along the coastline Wah Fu Estate and the breakwater of Tin Wan.