At its meeting Friday (18/1) the Town Planning Board (TPB) agreed to the changes to the planning application from Sun Hung Kai (SHK) to double the number of flats from 4,930 to 9,500 as detailed in our story on 28 July 2018. This is in addition to the plans to build a new town for up to 100,000 further to the west, below the Shap Sz Heung hills – see BUZZ story from April 2018.
The TPB did, however, make some changes to the application. These include the provision of two public transport interchanges, which could accommodate buses, minibuses and taxis, as well as providing no less than 86,000 sq ft of public open-space facilities, and to reserve two sites next to Che Ha Village for primary schools.
SHK also made some promises. Earlier in the week they said that they might design some of the flats in the Sai Kung project with senior citizens in mind, with elderly-friendly features and facilities.
One of the other concerns raised at the TPB meeting were concerns over whether the area’s transport network could deal with the increase in the residential population. One board member, David Lui Yin Tat, questioned whether there would be enough car parking spaces. He also queried the impact on public transport services. The plan calls for 2,415 car parking spaces, which met the city’s official planning standards and guidelines, according to one Planning Department (PlanD) officer. She also said that PlanD had estimated that about 70 per cent of residents were expected to use public transport, while 30 per cent would use private cars.
Current local residents hope that the MTR line terminating at Wu Kai Sha can be extended to the area, but it seems there are no plans to do so. Sai Sha Road is already being widened to four lanes to cope with the construction traffic – see BUZZ story from 3 August 2018.
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