TNAG-1858-FCO40-2633-Legislative-Council-of-Hong-Kong-memoranda-and-minutes-of-me-1989 — Page 219

HONG KONG

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL 19 July 1989 香港立法局———————————一九八九年七月十九日

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Mr. HUI Yin-fat directed his criticism at the Town Planning Board. Ironically, the Town Planning Board cannot consider land planning of an area until that area has become an urban area or a potential urban area, by which time, a lot of development in the area has been committed or even built. Such has happened to Tsing Yi, Tuen Mun and will continue to happen to Tin Shui Wai and other new town if the Town Planning Ordinance is not amended.

(b) Our Town Planning Ordinance, enacted in 1939, must be revised to recognize the inter-relationship of town planning and environmental protection activities, and to ensure that environmental issues will be given greater regard in all planning decisions than in the past.

Environmental assessment studies should be carried out when a sub- regional plan or an outline zoning plan is prepared. Similarly, planning applications for certain types of development should be accompanied by environmental assessment studies.

Here, I must caution that we should not develop our legislation and planning systems for the purpose of frustrating the right kind of developments. Clear environmental planning criteria and guidelines, as well as specified time for consideration, should be formulated and followed. In this regard, if the Hong Kong planning standards and guidelines are to be used by architects and planners, they should be made readily available to them.

(c) Land use planning

Solutions to minimize environmental problems do not rest with legislation and investments in infrastructure.

Land use planning has a decisive effect on the environment. During the debate on the Green paper on transport, I have touched upon the environmental problems created by industrial zoning located near residential zoning, when planning was largely determined by transport needs.

We have now to provide solutions to environment problem areas which we have inherited: areas such as Kwun Tong, Tsuen Wan, Kwai Chung, and even the newer generation of new towns such as Tsing Yi and Tuen Mun.