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The
SAR Administration announced the revised “Hopewell Centre II” scheme
on 19 November 2008. The Conservancy Association has the following
comments:
Whether the developer reduced the scale of the project in response
to social aspiration or constraints of traffic flow, the revised
scheme is undeniably an improvement. But the scale of the revised
scheme is still too big; its impacts on trees and landscape are
still unacceptable.
According to the Government, “the site coverage will constitute 20%
of the comprehensive redevelopment area as in the approved scheme,”
but what the government failed to reveal is that 20% refers just to
the tower block and not the podium underneath, which covers almost
100% area of the site and with a height of about 17 floors. All the
trees on the public slope, including many wall trees and mature
trees 50 to 80 years of age, will be wiped out. The Administration
selectively announced the development parameters gave the impression
that it was trying to mislead the public and lobby on behalf of the
developer. As for the reduction of plot ratio to 10.5, it was
calculated on the basis of both the private and public land; the
number is in fact over 15 if excluding the public land.
The woodland on the government slope serves as a “green lung” for
the Wan Cahi community and an important part of the landscape of
“Old Wan Chai.” But a massive block will be imposed on the woodland
as the podium of the future Hopewell Centre II will be merged with
that of “Centre I” according to the current scheme. The landscape
and townscape of Kennedy Road will also be seriously affected. The
developer should minimize the size of the podium or redesign the
build form to preserve the woodland.
The “open space” proposed by the developer will be created by
uprooting the trees and clearing the wooded slope. It will be a
hard-paved park and nothing more than part of the foreground of the
hotel. As the public can hardly make use of it, the park should not
be counted as planning gain. The Government should also recover the
open space promised by the same developer when it developed the open
space at 195-206 Queen’s Road East into a commercial block; the
gross floor area should be deducted from the Hopewell Centre II to
ensure the community enjoys a genuine green environment.
The Conservancy Association urges the Administration to play its
proper role as a gatekeeper by complying with the land exchange
policy and controlling excessive development, to ensure Hong Kong
can have a sustainable living environment. |
