Debate linking golf course housing drive, Northern project 'out-of-bounds'

It is a "straw man fallacy" to argue the Fanling Golf Course need not be developed to provide space for public housing because the Northern Metropolis already exists, says the chairman of the Advisory Council on the Environment, Stanley Wong Yuen-fai.

Wong said the Northern Metropolis project, which aims to redevelop and rezone land, will not increase the supply of land.

"The scheme aims to turn developed land into new development areas, making up the 3,000-hectare Northern Metropolis, which will then be subject to further planning," he said. "But the plan does not increase land supply."

By contrast, he said, the golf course development plan aims to increase housing supply in the short term.

"The idea that housing should not be built on the golf course just because the Northern Metropolis exists is a straw man fallacy," Wong said.

"Developing the golf course will increase land supply and housing supply very efficiently. It's also a short- to medium-term arrangement. We shouldn't confuse the two."

Wong's remarks came after he announced the council had deferred making a decision or whether it would approve a feasibility report following a 10-hour meeting on Friday.

Earlier this month a feasibility study found a nine-hectare plot of land on the eastern side of the golf course could be developed to help ease the housing crunch, providing an estimated 12,000 flats for 33,600 people.

Wong said on Friday that no council members thought it was necessary to reject the report, but almost every member wanted to know more.

Council members said then that more information was needed on factors including the proposed estate layout and the ecology of the proposed development, including a seven-month study on the flight paths and active seasons of the bird population on the golf course.

Wong said yesterday the council is not "splitting hairs" by requesting additional assessments on the environmental impact of developing the course for housing, pointing out that environmental awareness has improved over the past few years.

"The passing grade used to be 50 marks," Wong said. "In future it might be 60, 70 or even 85, which is what we're considering."

But he would not rule out the possibility the council would not be able to reach a consensus by March 2023 after the studies have been completed.

The council published on August 8 the findings of its environmental impact study, which said the northernmost part of the reserved land was of low to medium ecological value and therefore suitable for development.

At a six-hour council meeting on the same day, Lingnan University professor and council member Lau Chi-pang questioned whether housing there would be useful once the Northern Metropolis is ready. In 2018, then chief executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor appointed a task force to tackle the housing shortage.

The panel eventually proposed developing 32 hectares on the east side of the 172-hectare course.

cjames.lee@singtaonewscorp.com