XN000022-1995-06-28 — Page 35

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Town Planning Ordinance

Following is the speech by the Secretary for Planning, Environment and Lands, Mr Bowen Leung, in moving the resolution on the Town Planning Ordinance in the Legislative Council today (Wednesday):

Mr President,

I move the motion standing in my name on the Order Paper.

The Town Planning Ordinance (Cap. 131) was amended in 1991 to empower the Planning Authority to take actions against unauthorised developments in the New Territories. Such actions could generally be grouped as enforcement and prosecution actions. Enforcement Notices, Stop Notices or Reinstatement Notices could be issued to landowners, occupiers and persons responsible for an alleged unauthorised development, as appropriate. Persons who fail to comply with the Enforcement Notices or Stop Notices are then liable to prosecution. Alternatively, any person responsible for an unauthorised development could be prosecuted directly under the Ordinance.

As at March 1995, the Planning Department was handling about 640 cases of suspected unauthorised developments covering about 260 hectares of land. The majority of the unauthorised developments were located in the North-western and the North-eastern New Territories. The most common types of unauthorised developments are open storages, vehicle repair yards and land filling or site formation works. Open storages alone accounts for about 150 hectares of the unauthorised developments.

So far, a total of 1081 warning letters, 806 Enforcement Notices, 22 Stop Notices and 13 Reinstatement Notices have been issued. A total of 192 persons responsible for unauthorised developments in respect of 75 cases have been or are being prosecuted. 105 defendants involved in 67 cases have been convicted.

As a result of enforcement and prosecution actions, unauthorised developments covering a total of 58 hectares of land and involving 138 cases, have been discontinued. In addition, unauthorised developments covering 41 hectares of land and involving a total of 63 cases, have been regularised by the Town Planning Board through granting of planning permission with planning conditions imposed in order to minimise their adverse effects on the local environment. Up to now, about 0.7 hectares of land had been reinstated.