- 2 -
5.
(b)
(c)
(a)
(e)
the capital cost of the above proposal is estimated at HK$3.6 million and the annual running cost at HK$310,000. The Hong Kong Government will be hard pressed to afford sums such as these for a project which has created little interest in Hong Kong itself;
to preserve the bird life, it is necessary for the kei wais or shallow shrimp ponds to be maintained (paragraphs 3.4, 3.5, 4.7,
10.4 and 10.5
of the report refer);
8
there are political problems in that control over at least part of the area is claimed by the Shek Ha Village (now the Shek Ha or Fa Shing Commune) which is situated north of the Shum Chun River (see paragraph 4 of the report); and
there are still gaps in the knowledge of the Mai Po Marshes and, although tentative management plans have been drawn up, detailed management plans cannot be proposed until further research has been conducted (paragraph 9.6 of the report).
U.K.
You will understand therefore that even if the Town and Country Planning legislation had relevance in Hong Kong it is not really a question of planning. Under our legislation, even if I felt that I could recommend to Executive Council that a draft zoning plan be prepared under the Town Planning Ordinance with a view to designating the area as a nature reserve this would take a long time and there is :-
*/as a "Nature
Reserve"
erve,
(a) no guarantee that Council would agree to this
(because of the political aspects as well as
possible local opposition to such zoning and all it implies in the way of frustrating what would be considered more useful and profitable development);
(b) no guarantee that the publication of the draft zoning
plan as required under the Ordinance would not produce such objections that the draft plan would in the event have to be disproved by Council;
(c)
little likelihood of the zoning plan having any practical effect unless Government terminated the licences under which the land is held (which could prove to be expensive) and to ok it back for the purpose of creating a nature reserve yet at the same time ensuring that the kei wais continued in operation. Under Hong Kong legislation zoning of land for a specific purpose has no effect upon the operations and the land usage which exist when the zoning plan is approved and thus a statutory plan which zoned the Mai Po Marshes would have no immediate effect and, as stated in telegram No. 351 of 12th April, would lead to pressure on the Government to create the nature reserve.