hkskyline
November 26th, 2008, 08:59 AM
West Rail projects cut to improve air flow
Government tipped to lose over HK$2b
19 November 2008
South China Morning Post
The government has decided to trim two controversial projects along the West Rail line after concerns were expressed that they might add to the city's air-flow problems.
The development density at Nam Cheong station will be reduced by 18 per cent, while it will be trimmed by 15 per cent at Yuen Long station.
However, the reductions, which a surveyor estimates will result in the loss of more than HK$2 billion in government revenue, have been criticised as insufficient by an architect, district councillors and an environmentalist.
The new proposals were released by the Development Bureau yesterday in a paper submitted to the Legislative Council a year after the chief executive promised a review.
The floor area at Nam Cheong station will be cut by 18 per cent, equivalent to the loss of an office tower and a residential tower from the 11 high-rises in the original plan.
The buildings' height will be lowered by six storeys and the podium level lowered by two levels. Two visual corridors, 28 metres and 30 metres wide, will be kept, increasing wind speeds in neighbouring Fu Cheong Estate by an estimated 20 per cent and those in Nam Cheong Estate by 10 per cent.
In Yuen Long, two residential towers closest to the New Yuen Long Town Centre have been cut from the original nine, reducing the gross floor area by 15 per cent. Building heights will be lowered by one to three storeys and the podium level will be lowered by one level to 11 metres.
With two visual corridors, one 30 metres wide and the other 130 metres wide, wind speeds in a neighbouring residential development are expected to improve by 13 per cent.
A source who used to work at the Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation, the government's former development agent for the two projects, described the proposal as a "pragmatic approach", while adding "it offers little help in contributing to the wind environment".
Except for the northern site at Yuen Long station, gaps between buildings are less than a third of the total length of the sites, which architects said was the minimum space that should be kept to avoid a wall effect.
Surveyor Charles Chan Chiu-kwok estimated a combined reduction in land premium of about HK$2.28 billion at a market price of HK$2,600 per square foot for flats at Nam Cheong and HK$1,600 per square feet for Yuen Long.
Chinese University architecture professor Essy Baniassad said the fundamental planning problems of the Nam Cheong site would not be solved unless the design layout and its connection with the community were improved.
Sham Shui Po District Council vice-chairman Tam Kwok-kiu said the two visual corridors at Nam Cheong would not be sufficient for an elongated site with a length of three to four streets.
Yuen Long district councillor Siu Long-ming said the Sun Yuen Long Centre, sandwiched between the two Yuen Long station development sites, would still be dwarfed by the seven towers.
Green Sense president Roy Tam Hoi-pong, who wanted the development density cut by half, said the towers at Nam Cheong station still formed a wall blocking sea breezes from penetrating the inner town.
A government spokesman said the projects would be submitted to the Town Planning Board early next year after consultations with district councils.
Government tipped to lose over HK$2b
19 November 2008
South China Morning Post
The government has decided to trim two controversial projects along the West Rail line after concerns were expressed that they might add to the city's air-flow problems.
The development density at Nam Cheong station will be reduced by 18 per cent, while it will be trimmed by 15 per cent at Yuen Long station.
However, the reductions, which a surveyor estimates will result in the loss of more than HK$2 billion in government revenue, have been criticised as insufficient by an architect, district councillors and an environmentalist.
The new proposals were released by the Development Bureau yesterday in a paper submitted to the Legislative Council a year after the chief executive promised a review.
The floor area at Nam Cheong station will be cut by 18 per cent, equivalent to the loss of an office tower and a residential tower from the 11 high-rises in the original plan.
The buildings' height will be lowered by six storeys and the podium level lowered by two levels. Two visual corridors, 28 metres and 30 metres wide, will be kept, increasing wind speeds in neighbouring Fu Cheong Estate by an estimated 20 per cent and those in Nam Cheong Estate by 10 per cent.
In Yuen Long, two residential towers closest to the New Yuen Long Town Centre have been cut from the original nine, reducing the gross floor area by 15 per cent. Building heights will be lowered by one to three storeys and the podium level will be lowered by one level to 11 metres.
With two visual corridors, one 30 metres wide and the other 130 metres wide, wind speeds in a neighbouring residential development are expected to improve by 13 per cent.
A source who used to work at the Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation, the government's former development agent for the two projects, described the proposal as a "pragmatic approach", while adding "it offers little help in contributing to the wind environment".
Except for the northern site at Yuen Long station, gaps between buildings are less than a third of the total length of the sites, which architects said was the minimum space that should be kept to avoid a wall effect.
Surveyor Charles Chan Chiu-kwok estimated a combined reduction in land premium of about HK$2.28 billion at a market price of HK$2,600 per square foot for flats at Nam Cheong and HK$1,600 per square feet for Yuen Long.
Chinese University architecture professor Essy Baniassad said the fundamental planning problems of the Nam Cheong site would not be solved unless the design layout and its connection with the community were improved.
Sham Shui Po District Council vice-chairman Tam Kwok-kiu said the two visual corridors at Nam Cheong would not be sufficient for an elongated site with a length of three to four streets.
Yuen Long district councillor Siu Long-ming said the Sun Yuen Long Centre, sandwiched between the two Yuen Long station development sites, would still be dwarfed by the seven towers.
Green Sense president Roy Tam Hoi-pong, who wanted the development density cut by half, said the towers at Nam Cheong station still formed a wall blocking sea breezes from penetrating the inner town.
A government spokesman said the projects would be submitted to the Town Planning Board early next year after consultations with district councils.