Three more Land Sharing Pilot Scheme applications obtain in-principle endorsements

The Development Bureau today (December 19) announced that three more Land Sharing Pilot Scheme (LSPS) applications have obtained in-principle endorsements for the commencement of detailed design and technical assessments in the next stage.

Having considered the advice of the LSPS Panel of Advisors (Panel), which comprises members of various sectors, the Steering Committee on Land and Housing Supply chaired by the Financial Secretary has, under the delegated authority from the Chief Executive-in-Council, given in-principle endorsements to three projects.

The three applications concern sites in Tai Po and Kwai Tsing Districts, and propose to provide a total of about 8 100 housing units, including about 6 100 public housing units, as summarised below. Details of their proposed development parameters and progress have been uploaded to the LSPS webpage: www.devb.gov.hk/en/issues_in_focus/land_sharing_pilot_scheme/land_sharing_pilot_scheme_applications/application_received/index.html

• Application No. LSPS/001 – Made by Kam Luk Investment Company Limited (parent company: Nan Fung Development Limited), the application concerns a site at Lo Fai Road and Ting Kok Road, Tai Po, seeking to rezone the current "Green Belt" zone and "Road" area into residential uses with supporting facilities. Of the additional domestic gross floor area (GFA) of about 77 000 square metres generated under the proposed scheme, 70 per cent (about 54 000 sq m) will be set aside for public housing/Starter Homes (SH) development, whereas the remaining 30 per cent (about 23 000 sq m) will be set aside for private housing development. It is anticipated that the domestic GFA of about 54 000 sq m to be set aside for public housing/SH development, together with that of about 11 000 sq m proposed to be generated through inclusion of more government land, will provide about 1 200 public housing/SH units; whereas that set aside for private housing development will provide about 500 private housing units. The Panel supported the proposed scheme, and considered that the proposed housing development has taken due consideration of the surrounding built and natural environment.

• Application No. LSPS/004 - Jointly made by Asia Light Development Limited, Clover Success Limited and Gettenwood Company Limited (parent company: Wheelock Properties Limited), the application concerns a site at Tin Wo Road and south of She Shan Road, Lam Tsuen, Tai Po, seeking to rezone the current "Agriculture" zone into residential uses with supporting facilities. Of the additional domestic GFA of about 206 000 sq m generated under the proposed scheme, 70 per cent (about 144 000 sq m) will be set aside for public housing/SH development, whereas the remaining 30 per cent (about 62 000 sq m) will be set aside for private housing development. It is anticipated that the domestic GFA of about 144 000 sq m to be set aside for public housing/SH development, together with that of about 79 000 sq m proposed to be generated through inclusion of more government land and the Government's land resumption, will provide about 4 100 public housing/SH units; whereas that set aside for private housing development will provide about 1 200 private housing units. The Panel supported the proposed scheme, and considered that, based on the existing ownership pattern of the land, the scheme had optimised the development potential of the land with more emphasis on the production of public housing. The Government might also benefit from, through synergy with the adjacent LSPS proposal which in-principle endorsement had already been obtained earlier, a more holistic planning and cost effective provision of infrastructures and government institution or community facilities.

• Application No. LSPS/006 - Made by Gainful Sky Hong Kong Limited (parent company: Southeast Asia Properties and Finance Limited), the application concerns a site at Lei Muk Road, Kwai Chung, seeking to rezone the current "Other Specified Uses" annotated "Buildings with Historical and Architectural Interests Preserved for Social Welfare Facility Use" and "Open Space" into residential uses with supporting facilities. Of the additional domestic GFA of about 50 000 sq m generated under the proposed scheme, 70 per cent (about 35 000 sq m) will be set aside for public housing/SH development, whereas the remaining 30 per cent (about 15 000 sq m) will be set aside for private housing development. It is anticipated that the domestic GFA of about 35 000 sq m to be set aside for public housing/SH development, together with that of about 11 000 sq m proposed to be generated through inclusion of more government land, will provide about 800 public housing/SH units; whereas that set aside for private housing development will provide about 300 private housing units. The existing Grade 2 historic buildings outside the public housing portion are also proposed for adaptive reuse of residential care homes for the elderly for serving the community. The Panel supported the scheme as it could optimise existing land use for increasing the housing supply in urban areas.

With preliminary studies conducted, no insurmountable technical problems have been identified in the three applications at this stage. The infrastructures proposed are considered proportionate to the scale of the housing developments. Also, the government land proposed to be included is considered appropriate and would provide more public housing units and help rationalise the layouts of the developments, enhancing land use efficiency.

Having obtained the in-principle endorsement, the applicants will conduct more detailed technical assessments in order to finalise the development parameters, and to ascertain that the proposed developments would not entail any unacceptable impacts in terms of traffic, environment and infrastructure, etc. These are to facilitate the subsequent statutory and administrative procedures, such as those for town planning, road gazettal and lease modification, scheduled for 2024 at the earliest, prior to the commencement of works.

A spokesperson of the Development Bureau said that the LSPS aims to unlock the development potential of private land in areas not covered by the Government's planning studies or conservation areas, and serves to complement government-led land supply initiatives. Under the LSPS, the additional domestic GFA of a site generated by infrastructural enhancement will be allocated to public and private housing on a 70:30 ratio. As with other lease modifications, applicants will be charged with a full land premium.

The LSPS was launched in May 2020 with the application period until May 5, 2024. To date, six applications (including the three mentioned in this press release) have been received and obtained in-principle endorsements.

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