ENG-1992 — Page 223

LAND, PUBLIC WORKS AND UTILITIES

184

DPA plans acquire statutory effect. The Building Authority is empowered to disapprove plans of new building works submitted under the Buildings Ordinance if the building proposals contravene the zoning or the development restrictions on the statutory OZP or DPA plans.

At the end of 1992, there were a total of 50 OZPs, covering the main urban areas and new towns. These plans indicate the proposed broad land use patterns, major road systems of individual districts, and specific development restrictions within individual zones, and serve as development guides to public and private investment. In 1992, two new OZPs were published and 12 existing plans were amended by the TPB.

In response to the increasing number of unregulated and haphazard developments in the New Territories, such as open storage and container yards, which have led to the general degradation of the rural environment, DPA plans have been prepared by the TPB since the enactment of the Town Planning (Amendment) Ordinance 1991 which extended the statutory planning jurisdiction to the non-urban areas. DPA plans are transitional plans prepared for areas which require immediate planning control but where time does not allow the preparation of OZPs. Unlike OZPs, zonings on DPA plans are not comprehensive and there are many 'unspecified' areas on these plans where planning permission is required for all types of development other than those listed as always permitted. It is intended that all DPA plans will be replaced by OZPs within three years after publication. At the end of 1992, there were a total of 31 DPA plans exhibited by the TPB.

Attached to and forming part of the OZPs and DPA plans are notes setting out the types of land use which are always permitted as of right under a particular zoning or which may be permitted with or without conditions on application to the TPB. This permission system allows for greater flexibility in land use planning to meet changing community needs and market demand. The ordinance allows an unsuccessful applicant the right to request the TPB to review its decision. During the year, the board considered 608 applications for planning permission and 96 applications for review as compared with 396 and 47 respectively in 1991.

An independent Town Planning Appeal Board was set up in November 1991 under the ordinance to deal with appeals lodged by applicants who felt aggrieved by the decisions of the TPB upon review of their planning applications. Since its establishment, the Appeal Board has received 19 appeal cases and has heard seven cases.

To assist the board in assessing planning applications and to guide applicants in their submission of planning applications, the TPB regularly promulgates guidelines for applica- tions for various types of development. During the year, new guidelines for applications for factory/workshop/warehouse use within the 'unspecified use' area on DPA plans and revised guidelines for composite 'industrial-office' buildings in the industrial zone were released adding to the nine other sets of guidelines for other types of development issued in previous years.

During the year, a survey on the characteristics of offices, showrooms and research and development facilities currently established within existing industrial buildings and a study on underground development of commercial facilities extending beyond private land were completed to provide inputs to the revision of existing TPB guidelines for processing related planning applications. Another consultancy study on the operational characteristics of wholesale activities was also commissioned to provide a basis for formulating new planning guidelines and updating the notes to statutory plans.