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A government task force planning an island-wide development of Lantau is giving
the cold shoulder to residents and environmental activists who want a say in
the future of Mui Wo waterfront and other areas.
A group offering an alternative vision for Mui Wo says government plans are
"opaque'' and the task force has refused to consult Lantau residents before
preparing development proposals.
A spokesman for the Lantau Development Task Force, chaired by Financial
Secretary Henry Tang with members appointed by Chief Executive Tung Che-hwa,
said in response to a query that it had drawn up concept plans for the "whole
of Lantau'' and that the public would be consulted "later''.
That is not good enough for local residents and members of the Living Islands
Movement who want consideration given to a plan to redevelop Mui Wo's
waterfront with footpaths above the water, an entertainment plaza, and
tree-lined roads.
Landscape artist and freelance cartoonist Gavin Coates, who is a regular
contributor to the The Standard, has drawn a preliminary design for the
waterfront area that he has called home since 1996.
Coates designed the waterfall in Hong Kong Park and other projects.
Owin Fung, a government official on the task force, confirmed that the entire
island was being considered for development and said no meetings to discuss
alternative plans would be held until the public is consulted on the task
force's proposals late this year.
Opponents say such an approach is shortsighted because public input in early
planning stages would result in a more acceptable final plan.
Added to residents' worries are plans for the HK$12 billion "super prison''
planned to rise beside Hei Ling Chau, near Mui Wo, coupled with plans to build
a 2.2-kilometre bridge linking the town to the 7,220-inmate prison. The bridge
is to be used only in emergencies and most prison staff will use ferries.
The Mui Wo waterfront - often the first landing point for visitors to Lantau -
had long been considered an eyesore and a visual insult to its surroundings,
Coates said. He and others believe a creative renovation would solve the
problem.
"The primary objective is to indicate how the area might be developed in order
to not only attract but to retain visitors for as long as possible and induce
them to return,'' Coates wrote in a planning outline shown to Mui Wo residents.
"This will create business and employment opportunities for the local
population, as well as boosting the appeal of the area as a great place to
live.''
Access to the area could be improved by moving cars into a multi-storey car park
with a petrol station that could be built on undeveloped land away from the
waterfront.
Vehicle access would be confined to Mui Wo Ferry Pier Road and a new link to the
proposed car park. Nam Wan Road and the southern waterfront would be reserved
for pedestrians.
"I like the idea very much,'' Lantau resident and Islands District Council
member Amy Yung said. "It more or less is similar to Discovery Bay's idea, with
some restaurants at the centre of a community piazza.''
A big problem for Mui Wo was that many younger residents have moved to other
parts of Hong Kong to find work, Yung said.
"But if we promote tourism, it will attract more people to go there. This will
bring along a lot of business to the restaurants and recreational activity
[creating job opportunities].''
Living Islands Movement spokesman Tom Masterson said his members were helping
push the Mui Wo plan because it was a sound example of sustainable development.
Green Lantau Association spokesman Clive Noffke said Mui Wo was "dull'' because
it was dominated by a pier for loading and unloading heavy vehicles and a bus
terminus.
"It's certainly not as attractive as it could be,'' he added. Noffke said he
tried to get his local district officer to organise a forum to discuss
alternatives but his request was rejected.
Only government officials are members of the Lantau Development Task Force,
whose work calls to mind decades of government initiatives to redevelop vast
areas of Hong Kong with little public scrutiny at the planning stage.
Masterson calls the task force process "opaque''.
Noffke said that residents had been told that no public forum would be held
before a formal public consultation on the task force's development concept.
Fung, the Islands District officer co-opted to the task force, said some of the
task force's initial development proposals "may touch on'' Mui Wo, but no plans
had been decided for any part of Lantau and all were far from being enacted.
"At this moment in time, if we are doing something for Mui Wo, what if other
residents in other areas make similar requests?'' Fung said.
It was not an "appropriate time'' for the district office or any other body to
hold a public forum as the concept plans were incomplete.
District council member Yung said she was disappointed at the task force's
attitude to exclude local residents from early planning.
"If you have local people's involvement ... the plans will be more acceptable,''
she said, because locals know the area better than government officials.
paris.lord@globalchina.com
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