ENG-1987 — Page 217

LAND, PUBLIC WORKS AND UTILITIES

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The sale by private treaty to the Mass Transit Railway Corporation of a site of 5 956 square metres above the Sai Wan Ho Station on Hong Kong Island was completed in March. Urban Council facilities will be included in the development on this site together with high-density residential units.

A site in Kowloon Bay comprising 2.23 hectares was sold by auction in November for development as a trade exhibition centre, an innovative use prompted by an application from an American firm.

A sale by private treaty to the Housing Authority comprising a site of 4.95 hectares at Ma On Shan for a Home Ownership Scheme was completed in December. The develop- ment will provide 3 500 flats on completion of its two phases.

During the year four sites were sold under the Private Sector Participation Scheme (PSPS). The Tuen Mun PSPS site of 2.2 hectares was sold by public tender in January. This development will provide about 2 200 flats for sale to purchasers within limited income groups nominated by the Housing Authority. It was followed by three more PSPS tender sales, one each in Sha Tin, Shek Wu Hui (Fanling) and Junk Bay, which together will provide a further 6 416 flats.

In the New Territories a site of 1.52 hectares adjacent to the Kowloon-Canton Railway Station at Tai Po was sold by tender in October for commercial and residential develop- ment which will also include the provision of a transport interchange in the podium at ground level. This tender was restricted to holders of land exchange entitlements (Letter A/B).

Town Planning

In view of the scarce land resource in Hong Kong and the pressure on land as a result of population growth and economic development, it is necessary to plan the use of land very carefully_to ensure proper planning of the limited land resource to meet competing demands so as to provide a good living and working environment for its present and future population.

The Territorial Development Strategy (TDS) outlines a long-term land-use and transpor- tation strategy for Hong Kong to cater for the target population and associated socio- economic activities which will produce the highest quality environment within resource and time constraints. Further updating of the TDS continued and an outline works programme to guide major long-term development projects was prepared.

In line with the Territorial Development Strategy proposals, detailed sub-regional planning statements and district plans are prepared to provide guidance for more detailed land use planning and development control. During the year, the North-Western New Territories Sub-Regional Planning Statement was approved by the Development Progress Committee. The statement sets out the government's intention on the future use and development of land in this sub-region, which serves as a general guide in the preparation of district plans and in development control.

Planning statements were prepared for all the four sub-regions in the New Territories, and work began on the preparation of the planning statement for the remaining sub-region, that is, the metropolitan areas.

At the district level, two types of plans are prepared – statutory and departmental. Their purpose is to control land use and building volume on individual sites to meet the demands of the territory's growing population and to ensure, as far as possible, adequate provision of the required community facilities and public utility services.

Statutory town plans, normally called outline zoning plans, are prepared under the provisions of the Town Planning Ordinance, under the direction of the Town Planning