Following is a question by the Hon Wong Yuk-man and a written reply by the Secretary for Development, Mr Paul Chan, in the Legislative Council today (February 11):
Question:
Some residents in Hung Hom and To Kwa Wan have complained to me that as a number of shops and hotels in the districts are dedicated to providing services to mainland people visiting Hong Kong under the Individual Visit Scheme, a large number of coaches park and pick up/drop off tourists in the districts every day, resulting in traffic obstructions. Moreover, the noises produced by tourists have also caused nuisances to the residents. As a number of new hotels in the Hung Hom district will be completed in the next few years, these residents are worried that the aforesaid problems will worsen. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it has compiled statistics on the respective average daily numbers of coaches parking in the two aforesaid districts on weekdays; and
(2) how the authorities, when vetting and approving planning applications for changing land uses for hotel developments, currently assess the impacts of visitor flows and traffic flows to be brought by the relevant projects on the traffic and lives of residents in the districts concerned, and of the measures put in place to minimise such impacts; under what circumstances the authorities will reject such applications?
Reply:
President,
Hotel is a crucial component of the tourism industry. The Government has been keeping a close watch on the hotel room supply in Hong Kong, with a view to supporting the sustainable development of Hong Kong's tourism industry.
On the planning and land use aspect, hotel is a use always permitted on sites zoned "Commercial" on the statutory plan, and no planning application is required for such development. For hotel development on sites zoned "Residential" and "Other Specified Uses" annotated "Business", application must be made to the Town Planning Board (TPB). When considering the planning applications, the TPB will take into account the circumstances of individual applications and relevant factors, including the justifications of the applicant, compatibility with the surrounding land uses, impacts on traffic and infrastructural capacities, views of the Government departments concerned, impacts of the proposed development on surrounding areas and the public views received, etc.
Regarding each part of the question, our reply in consultation with the relevant bureaux and departments is as follows:
(1) The Transport Department (TD) has been monitoring the use of coach parking spaces in different districts. According to the TD's observation last year, some one hundred coaches were found parking on roads near the popular tourist spots and hotels in To Kwa Wan daily; coaches were also found parking in Hung Hom from time to time. The TD notes that some coach drivers do not use the proper parking spaces, but instead choose to park illegally near the popular tourist spots or hotels, which makes it impossible for other vehicles to load/unload in these road sections; hence causing traffic congestion. The TD has been liaising with the Police in this regard, and the Police would take enforcement measures as appropriate.
At the same time, the TD would, where necessary, identify and provide additional coach parking spaces at appropriate locations, as long as road safety and other road users are not affected.
(2) Regarding the planning application for hotel use, the TPB will take into account relevant factors when considering the application, including the impacts of the proposed development on traffic and residents nearby. In this connection, the TPB will make reference to the comments of relevant departments including the TD and the Home Affairs Department, as well as the findings of the traffic impact assessment submitted by the applicant. Depending on the circumstances of individual case, the TPB could consider imposing appropriate conditions in the planning approval, if necessary, based on the recommendations of relevant departments, such as requiring the applicant to take measures to minimise the traffic impact to an acceptable level. If the hotel development concerned would cause an unacceptable traffic impact, the TPB would consider rejecting the relevant application.
Ends/Wednesday, February 11, 2015
Issued at HKT 14:30