For discussion on
15 April 1997
Joint LegCo Panels on Planning,
Lands and Works and on Housing
Development of the Eight Major
Ex-Military Sites in the Territory
Purpose
1. The purpose of this paper is to brief Members on the findings and recommendations of the consultancy studies for eight major ex-military sites for residential development.
Background
2. The Sino-British Joint Liaison Group agreed in June 1994 that 25 military sites would be released for redevelopment to meet the social and economic needs of Hong Kong.
3. Of the 15 ex-military sites proposed for residential development, 8 major sites had been included in two consultancy studies commissioned to verify their suitability for residential use and, if they are suitable, to propose appropriate level of development. They are the Blackdown Barracks, British Military Hospital and Kowloon Tsai Married Quarters in Kowloon; Pearl Island Married Quarters, Perowne Barracks and Gordon Hard, Dills Corner Camp, Beas Stables Married Quarters and Burma Lines in the New Territories (see Figure 1).
4. Based on detailed analyses of the opportunities and constraints of development in these sites, the consultants have made recommendations on the land uses, optimum development intensities and actions required to address the potential problems related to the recommended developments. Apart from the Burma Lines site which requires further study, the consultants recommendations were endorsed by the Administration as the basis for the rezoning proposals.
The Sites
5. The 3 ex-military sites in Kowloon are located in built-up areas. The Blackdown Barracks is located in San Po Kong adjacent to an industrial area. It is surrounded by major highways on 3 sides. The British Military Hospital is situated in a high-class residential area within which there are several major community, open space and recreational facilities. The Kowloon Tsai Married Quarters is located in the high-class residential area of Beacon Hill which is on the lower slopes of the Kowloon foothills to the south of Lung Cheung Road.
6. In the New Territories, the Pearl Island and the Perowne Barracks and Gordon Hard sites are located in the suburb of Tuen Mun New Town within an up-market medium-density private housing area. The Burman Lines, Dills Corner Camp and Beas Stables sites are located in the rural area where the existing and proposed developments (as approved by the Town Planning Board) are low-rise and low-density.
Criteria for Assessing the Optimal Level of Development
7. The following criteria have been adopted in assessing the intensities of development for the above sites : -
(a) The Planning Intention of the Areas Concerned
The planning intention of an area is reflected in the town plan which takes into account a host of factors such as the characteristics of the area, the existing and planned community/infrastructure/transport facilities and the environmental conditions. For example, the Dills Corner site and the Beas Stables site are situated in the rural area where the existing and proposed development (as approved by the Town Planning Board) are all low-rise and low-density. The Blackdown Barracks site, on the other hand, is situated amist of high-density development. The ex-military sites are all in-fill sites and, as such, should be developed in harmony with the existing developments in the areas concerned. It should be noted that the Town Planning Board assesses the development intensities of individual applications on the basis of the outline zoning plans. It is most unlikely that the Board would approve re-zoning proposals for these ex-military sites to higher development intensities than the applications it has approved in the area; otherwise it may be accused of adopting double-standards between government land and private land.
(b) Traffic and Infrastructural Capacities
The consultancy studies have confirmed that most of these sites are constrained by the limited capacities of the local road networks and infrastructure. Some local road junctions would experience capacity deficiency even without the proposed development on these sites. The consultants have recommended upgrading and improvement of the local infrastructure and roads in order to support the development intensities they have proposed. The impact of development on local and strategic infrastructure/transport routes should be distinguished. Very often, it would not be cost-effective to upgrade or expand the strategic facilities such as the Tuen Mun Highway to cater for a limited number of in-fill developments in its catchment areas. In this regard, the Territorial Development Strategy Review has identified a number of strategic growth areas (SGA) where high-density development would be encouraged and supported by the provision of strategic infrastructure/transport facilities. Development in areas outside the SGAs should follow the existing planning intention according to the outline zoning plans.
(c) Environmental Impact
Many of these sites are surrounded by or front onto major roads. For example, the Blackdown Barracks site is surrounded by major roads on 3 sides and is contiguous with the San Po Kong industrial area. Moreover, a proposed new road would cut into the edge of the site. The results are that more than half of the flats proposed to be built there would be subject to noise levels above the planning standard. The only effective mitigation measure is acoustic insulation through air-conditioning. This is the last resort and is usually not preferred by the Environmental Protection Department.
(d) Urban Design Requirements
Some sites are located in visually prominent locations. Infill developments in these areas should thus take this factor into account. For example, the Kowloon Tsai Married Quarters site, which is situated in the Kowloon foothills, has been developed on the base of a "stepped height" concept. As the last site to be developed in this area, it would be prudent to maintain the existing townscape.
8. The above criteria have been applied with a high degree of flexibility in response to the shortage of housing land. The Perowne South site, for example, will be developed to a plot ratio of 3 in order to make it suitable for a Private Sector Participation Scheme and Sandwich Class Housing. The surrounding sites have been developed only to a plot ratio of 1.3. The consultancy studies have examined possible cost-effective measures to upgrade the infrastructure and transport capacities in order to cope with the proposed development. Annex A of the paper describes the development constraints and the proposed improvement works to be undertaken.
Development Parameters
9. On the basis of the above criteria, the consultants have recommended the following development parameters for 7 of the ex-military sites. The development of the Burma Lines site would be further examined.
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Ex-Military Sites
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Site
Area
(in hectares)
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Proposed Future Uses
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Proposed
No. of Flats
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A. Kowloon
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|
|
|
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Blackdown Barracks
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7.15
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i) PSPS (medium/high density)
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3,000
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|
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ii) Primary School
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|
|
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iii) Open Space
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|
|
|
|
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British Military Hospital
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7.4
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i) Private residential (medium-density)
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700
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ii) Indoor Recreation Centre
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|
|
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iii) GIC Use
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|
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iv) Open Space
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|
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Kowloon Tsai Married Quarters
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5.08
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Private residential (medium-density)
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604
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B. New Territories
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|
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Pearl Island Married Quarters
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1.1
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Private residential (medium-density)
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95
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Perown Barracks & Gordon Hard
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26.5
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i) Private residential (medium-density)
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i) 1,100
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ii) PSPS, Sandwich Class Housing (medium density)
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ii) 2,040
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iii) G/IC
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iv) Open Space
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Dills Corner Camp
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6.1
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Private residential (low-density)
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182
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Beas Stables Married Quarters
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1.7
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Private residential (low-density)
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20
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Total
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7,741
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Burma Lines
|
28.4
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Subject to further studies with a view to intensify the level of development
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-- |
Advice Sought
10. Members are invited to note the findings of the two consultancy studies on ex-military sites.
Attachments
Annex A - Summary of the Constraints and Improvement Works for Individual Ex-Military Sites
Figure 1 - Location Plan of Major Ex-Military Sites for Residential Development
Planning Department
April 1997
Annex A
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Site
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Total
Gross
Site Area
(ha)
|
Platform
Area(1) (ha)
|
No. of
Flats
|
Plot Ratio
(based on net
platform area)
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Development Constraints
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Proposed Improvement Works
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Possible Timing
of Development
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Kowloon
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|
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Blackdown Barracks
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7.15
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4.5
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3,000
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4.0
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· Severe environmental impacts in terms of noise and air pollution.
· Interface problems with the San Po Kong Industrial Area to the west of the site.
· Additional primary school required to support the additional population and to implement the whole-day schooling policy before 2001.
· Transport links joining Tate's Cairn Tunnel marginally encroach onto the eastern part of the site .
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· Widening of the northbound approach to the junction of Choi Hung Road/Hammer Hill Road.
· Improvement to Choi Hung Road/ Sze Mei Street/bus terminus junction.
· New fresh and salt water supply lines.
· Mitigation measures at source to abate the noise problems.
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1997/98(2) |
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British Military Hospital
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7.4
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5.4
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700
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1.6
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· Insufficient capacity of the surrounding road network to cope with further development.
· Adverse traffic noise impacts requiring environmental mitigation measures.
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· Improvement to Wylie Road/ Princess Margaret Road junction.
· Improvement to Wylie Road/ Gascoigne Road junction.
· New fresh and salt water supply lines.
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1998/99(2) |
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Kowloon Tsai Married Quarters
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5.08
(plus reserve area of 1.83)
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4.1
|
604
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1.8
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· Built form of housing developments to conform with the existing stepped height principle adopted for Kowloon Tong area and tie-in with the character of the two adjacent Special Control Areas.
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· Upgrading the Cornwall Street sewer and new fresh and salt water supply lines.
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1998/99(2) |
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New Territories
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
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Pearl Island Married Quarters
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1.1
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1.1
|
95
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1.3
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· Not to overtax the already congested Castle Peak Road and Tuen Mun Highway.
· Severe traffic noise impacts from Castle Peak Road and Tsing Lung Road.
· To conform with the character of the adjacent development. The adjacent developments have been approved for medium to low density development.
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· Proposed signalised junction at Castle Peak Road/Tsing Lung Road.
· Pipework connections for sewerage and storm water drainage.
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1997/98(2) |
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Perowne Barracks and Gordon Hard
|
26.5
|
18.8
|
3,140
|
1.6
(or 1.3
applied to
the whole
site area)
|
· Not to overtax the already congested Castle Peak Road and Tuen Mun Highway.
· Severe traffic noise impacts from Castle Peak Road and Tuen Mun Highway.
· To conform with the character of the adjacent development. The adjacent development sites have been approved for medium to low density development.
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· Improvement to the signalised junction at Castle Peak Road/So Kwun Wat Road.
· Improvement to Castle Peak Road/Tsing Yung Street and Castle Peak Road/So Kwun Wat Road junctions.
· Pipework connections for sewerage and storm water drainage.
|
early 1998(2) |
|
Dills Corner Camp
|
6.1
|
6.1
|
182
|
0.4
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· Not to overtax the already congested Castle Peak Road.
· Severe traffic noise from the New Territories Circular Road and Castle Peak Road; chimney emissions from industrial areas to the east; and operational noise from open storage areas located to the north of the site.
· To conform with the character of the adjacent development. The adjacent development sites have been approved for low density development.
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· Improvement to junction of Castle Peak Road and access road to the site.
· Upgrading of access road to the site.
· Pipework connections for sewerage and stormwater drainage.
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2000/01(2) |
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Beas Stables Married Quarters
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1.7
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1.7
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20
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0.4
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· Not to overtax the already congested Castle Peak Road.
· To conform with the character of the adjacent development. The adjacent development sites have been approved for low density development.
· The site is situated in a remote rural area.
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· Improvement to junctions of Castle Peak Road/Kwu Tung Road.
· Upgrading of access road and Kam Tsin Road.
· Pipework connection for sewerage and stormwater drainage.
|
1999/2000(2) |
|
Burma Lines
|
28.4
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19.9
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-
|
-
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· Subject to further studies on development intensify.
|
1999/2000 |
Notes : (1) Includes slopes, internal roads or open space.
(2) Pending completion of statutory rezoning procedures.
Last Updated on 21 August 1998
