LCQ7: Redevelopment projects on private residential buildings carried out by land owners and developers

     Following is a question by the Hon Chu Hoi-dick and a written reply by the Secretary for Development, Mr Michael Wong, in the Legislative Council today (June 6):

Question:

     Regarding the redevelopment projects on private residential buildings carried out by land owners and developers (redevelopment projects), will the Government inform this Council:
 
(1) of the following details of each of the redevelopment projects for which the relevant building plans were approved for the first time within the past five years (set out in a table):
(i) name,
(ii) address and lot number,
(iii) site area and details of site amalgamation,
(iv) the completion date for the demolition works of the old building(s),
(v) the date on which the building plan was approved for the first time,
(vi) whether an application was made for an order for compulsory sale of land under the Land (Compulsory Sale for Redevelopment) Ordinance (Cap. 545) (if so, of the application number),
(vii) original land use and total gross floor area of site,
(viii) land use and total gross floor area of site upon redevelopment,
(ix) total gross floor area and number of residential units upon redevelopment,
(x) total gross floor area and number of commercial premises upon redevelopment (if any),
(xi) amount of land premium payable, and
(xii) whether an occupation permit has been obtained from the Buildings Department; and
 
(2) whether it will enact a dedicated legislation to govern those redevelopment projects and stipulate that the relevant information of those redevelopment projects must be made public to facilitate the public to assess, from the perspective of overall planning, the impacts of those redevelopment projects on the various aspects of the communities concerned?
 
Reply:
 
President,
 
(1) For development projects (including redevelopment projects) carried out by land owners/developers, approval of building plans must be sought from the Building Authority in accordance with the Buildings Ordinance (Cap. 123) (BO). Besides, land owners/developers have to obtain approval of demolition plan and demolition consent from the Building Authority before the commencement of demolition works in accordance with the requirements of the BO, if the development project involves the demolition of existing buildings. Summary information on new building plans approved in the month (except amendment plans) including the address of the development project, types of new buildings, total gross floor areas for domestic or/and non-domestic uses as shown in the approved plans, numbers of domestic units (if applicable), occupation permits already obtained from the Buildings Department (BD) and sites with demolition consents issued of all private development projects are set out in the Monthly Digest of BD and uploaded to the BD website (www.bd.gov.hk/english/documents/index_statistics.html) for public inspection. Members of the public may also request to inspect and copy the approved plans of individual completed private development projects.

     As the release of information aims at providing information contained in approved building plans, it does not contain records as to whether the projects involved are redevelopment projects or any relevant information on the original buildings of the redevelopment projects.

     For details of compulsory sale orders issued in the past five years, please refer to our written reply to the supplementary question (question serial number: S0105) raised by the Finance Committee in examining the Estimates of Expenditure 2018-19 (www.legco.gov.hk/yr17-18/english/fc/fc/sup_w/s-devb-pl-e.pdf).

     The amounts of land premium payable for lease modifications involved in development projects are set out in relevant land documents, and members of the public may obtain relevant land documents by searches at the Land Registry.
 
(2) There are relevant legislations at present to regulate development projects (including redevelopment projects) and we consider it unnecessary to enact a dedicated legislation to govern redevelopment projects. Specifically, development projects are governed by the BO to ensure that the planning, design and construction of new buildings comply with the building design and construction standards under the BO on various aspects such as structure and fire safety and sanitation. In addition, development projects have to comply with the requirements stipulated in the Outline Zoning Plans (OZPs) prepared under the Town Planning Ordinance (Cap. 131) (TPO). For development projects requiring planning permission from the Town Planning Board (TPB) or amendment to OZP, the proponent must file an application to TPB under the TPO. The application will be published according to the provisions of the TPO for public comment. Also, land owners/developers are also bound by the respective land lease conditions.

     The Government has all along been releasing information on development projects for public inspection. As mentioned above, members of the public can access information on the approved building plans of individual completed development projects through the Monthly Digest available on the BD website or by making a request to BD. According to existing mechanism, if a development project is the subject of an application for planning permission, the Planning Department (PlanD) will prepare a gist of the application which will be deposited at PlanD's planning enquiry counters and uploaded to the TPB website for public inspection. Planning documents submitted by applicants are also kept at PlanD's planning enquiry counters. Under the TPO, members of the public may submit their views on amendments to OZPs and planning applications. Information on OZPs and planning applications are available on the TPB website (www.tpb.gov.hk) and the Statutory Planning Portal 2 (www2.ozp.tpb.gov.hk/gos). Moreover, regarding development projects involving applications for lease modification or land exchange, the Lands Department will upload the information on each completed application to its website (www.landsd.gov.hk/en/exc_mod) for public inspection.