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The Court of Appeal on Monday dismissed an appeal by the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) seeking to overturn a successful legal challenge against a proposed large-scale public housing development.
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The case stems from the government's acquisition of 32 hectares of the Fanling Golf Course in 2023, along with a plan to develop 9.5 hectares of the "Old Course" into public housing.
The Hong Kong Golf Club previously won a judicial review against the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report's conditional approval, which was found to have underestimated environmental damage and lacked proper public consultation.
The department subsequently appealed the ruling, arguing that having insufficient information to assess the precise level of environmental risk did not mean no assessment had taken place.
While the department maintained that appropriate mitigation measures would be implemented, the Club countered that the adverse environmental effects were too severe to be practically mitigated.
In its judgment, the Court of Appeal upheld the original ruling, finding that the consultation process for the EIA report was deficient and that failing to make supplementary information available for public inspection was procedurally unfair.
The court also ruled that the Director of Environmental Protection acted in a "Wednesbury unreasonable" manner by failing to consider the Club's submissions regarding the supplementary information.
Consequently, the court dismissed the appeal and ordered both the EPD and the Civil Engineering and Development Department to pay a portion of the Club's legal costs.
In a statement, the Hong Kong Golf Club welcomed the ruling, describing the Fanling Golf Course as a precious "site of cultural heritage" that continues to play a vital role in the city's golf development.
The Club stated that it will maintain close communication with the government to preserve the site while utilizing its resources to promote golf and sports tourism, maximizing the venue's value for Hong Kong.
Beyond its ongoing efforts to popularize, professionalize, and host major golf events, the Club noted that it has hosted national and international tournaments in recent years to elevate Hong Kong's standing in the global golf community.
The Club also reaffirmed its commitment to making golf more accessible to the public, pledging to support sports development initiatives led by both the central and SAR governments.
