New-Face-Old-Spirit for Ngau Tau Mei and San Tin Areas -
Draft Ngau Tam Mei Outline Zoning Plan approved
Edited by Timothy YUEN
Apart from approving the Hung Lung Hang Development Permission Area Plan the Chief Executive in Council on 28 December 2001 also approved the draft Ngau Tam Mei. Spokesman for the Town Planning Board disclosed the news to the public on 28 December 2001.
The approved Outline Zoning Plan (OZP) known as Approved OZP No. S/YL-NTM/6 is to provide a statutory land use planning framework guiding development and redevelopment in the Ngau Tam Mei area. It is now available for public inspection at the Secretariat of the Town Planning Board, Tuen Mun and Yuen Long District Planning Office, Yuen Long District Office and San Tin Rural Committee. Land administrators, private town planning practitioners and any citizens who have interest in the land use and development planning may buy the OZP at the Map Publications Centres in Yau Ma Tei and North Point Government Offices.
The Planning Scheme Area, covering about 920 hectares, is located in the north-eastern part of the North West New Territories.
Areas designated for residential developments are mainly found along San Tin Highway in the west and south-west of the area. About 53.28 hectares of land are zoned "Comprehensive Development Area" (CDA) and intended for comprehensive residential development. In addition, some 54.1 hectares of land have been zoned "Residential (Group C)" which is intended for low-rise, low-density residential schemes with ancillary facilities. Moreover, about 27.29 hectares of land are zoned "Residential (Group D)" which is intended for residential upgrading. Very low-rise and low-density residential development is allowed subject to the Town Planning Board's approval.
Apart from the above, an area with a total of 37.71 hectares of land has been zoned "Village Type Development" covering existing recognized villages and area reserved for village expansion. The local villagers have expressed no objection to the zoning.
The OZP also allow some portions of the Ngau Tam Mei area to other developments such as industrial, open storage and other uses. An area of 7.89 hectares have been earmarked for industrial use and zoned as "Industrial (Group D)" intended for upgrading or expanding the existing industrial activities in the area. Mainly lying In the Yuen Long North along the San Tin Highway, pieces of land of 91.81 hectares are zoned "Open Storage" catering for the land demand for open storage uses. The planning officials have revealed that such zoning would be used for regularizing the existing illegal open storage uses of land. Moreover, a site of 0.48 hectare between San Tin Highway and San Tam Road is zoned "Other Specified Uses" annotated "Electric Sub-station" to cater for the development of an electric sub-station to meet the local demand.
Apart from dispensing the pieces of land in the Ngau Tam Mei area for residential, industrial and other related uses, the government planners have not forgotten slicing some pieces of land for recreation and conservation purposes. A total of 43.1 hectares of land is zoned "Recreation" to provide land for the development of active and passive recreational facilities which may satisfy those citizens who have demanded Government for providing more rooms for their outdoor or the like activities. The planners have neither failed to meet the demands of the environmentalists and natural-scene-lovers by earmarking 319.44 hectares of land for green belt purpose. The "Green Belt" zone according to the new OZP has included foothills, lower hill slopes, spurs, isolated knolls, woodland, traditional burial ground or vegetated land. An additional 258.23 hectares serving to protect the hill slopes at the southern and eastern portions of the area joining the Lam Tsuen Country Park have also been zoned as "Conservation Area". Apart from meeting the environmentalists' demands the green belt also serves to prevent urban-sprawl by limiting the urban and sub-urban developments.
What is more is that two sites amounting to about 11.02 hectares of land are designated as "Government, Institution or Community". It is only meant to reflect the existing uses of livestock waste composting plant and Ngau Tam Mei Water Treatment Works.