The Chief Executive in Council has approved the draft Urban Renewal Authority (URA) Ming Lun Street/Ma Tau Kok Road Development Scheme Plan (DSP).

     "The approved DSP provides a statutory land use planning framework to guide the implementation of the URA Ming Lun Street/Ma Tau Kok Road Development Scheme", a spokesman for the Town Planning Board said today (June 7).

     The development scheme area covering about 1.1 hectares is designated as "Residential (Group A)" and area shown as 'Road'. The DSP intends to achieve a holistic replanning of land uses together with the adjoining urban fabric at the To Kwa Wan Road/Ma Tau Kok Road Development Scheme to expedite redevelopment for a comprehensively designed waterfront development fitting in with the redevelopment intention of the "5 Streets" area in Ma Tau Kok. Waterfront promenade, retail belt and non-building area as designated on the DSP as well as government, institution or community facilities will be provided within the scheme area to meet community needs.

     The approved DSP No. S/K22/URA1/2 is available for public inspection during office hours at (i) the Secretariat of the Town Planning Board, (ii) the Planning Enquiry Counters, (iii) the Kowloon District Planning Office and (iv) the Kowloon City District Office.

     Copies of the approved DSP are available for sale at the Map Publications Centres in North Point and Yau Ma Tei. The electronic version of the DSP can be viewed at the Town Planning Board's website (www.tpb.gov.hk).

     The Chief Executive in Council has approved the draft Urban Renewal Authority (URA) To Kwa Wan Road/Ma Tau Kok Road Development Scheme Plan (DSP).

     "The approved DSP provides a statutory land use planning framework to guide the implementation of the URA To Kwa Wan Road/Ma Tau Kok Road Development Scheme", a spokesman for the Town Planning Board said today (June 7).

     The development scheme area covering about 0.9 hectares is designated as "Residential (Group A)" and area shown as 'Road'. The DSP intends to achieve a holistic replanning of land uses together with the adjoining urban fabric at the Ming Lun Street/Ma Tau Kok Road Development Scheme to expedite redevelopment for a comprehensively designed waterfront development fitting in with the redevelopment intention of the "5 Streets" area in Ma Tau Kok. Waterfront promenade, retail belt and non-building area as designated on the DSP as well as government, institution or community facilities will be provided within the scheme area to meet community needs.

     The approved DSP No. S/K22/URA2/2 is available for public inspection during office hours at (i) the Secretariat of the Town Planning Board, (ii) the Planning Enquiry Counters, (iii) the Kowloon District Planning Office and (iv) the Kowloon City District Office.

     Copies of the approved DSP are available for sale at the Map Publications Centres in North Point and Yau Ma Tei. The electronic version of the DSP can be viewed at the Town Planning Board's website (www.tpb.gov.hk).

     The Environmental Protection Department (EPD) today (June 7) released the latest grading of water quality for 39 gazetted beaches (see Note 1) and one non-gazetted beach (see Note 2).

     Thirteen beaches were rated as Good (Grade 1), 21 as Fair (Grade 2), five as Poor (Grade 3) and one as Very Poor (Grade 4).

Grade 1 beaches are:

Grade 2 beaches are:

Grade 3 beaches are:

Grade 4 beach is:

     Compared with the grading released last week, Anglers' Beach has been upgraded from Grade 3 to Grade 2. Lower Cheung Sha Beach and Silver Mine Bay Beach have been changed from Grade 1 to Grade 2, and Castle Peak Beach from Grade 3 to Grade 4.

     "We observed water quality deterioration at Castle Peak Beach, which was largely due to the recent prolonged unstable weather. We will continue to closely monitor the beach water quality," an EPD spokesman said.

     Under the present grading system, beaches are classified into four grades, namely Good (Grade 1), Fair (Grade 2), Poor (Grade 3) and Very Poor (Grade 4), according to the level of E. coli in the water. Grades are calculated on the basis of the geometric mean of the E. coli counts on the five most recent sampling occasions.

     While the ratings represent the general water quality at the beaches, the EPD spokesman reminded members of the public that water quality could be temporarily affected during and after periods of heavy rain. Bathers should avoid swimming at beaches for up to three days after a tropical cyclone or heavy rainfall.

     A summary of beach grades is published weekly before the weekend. The latest beach grades based on the most current data may be obtained from the EPD's website on Beach Water Quality (www.epd.gov.hk/epd/beach) or the beach hotline, 2511 6666. Members of the public can also obtain the latest daily water quality forecast information for all beaches that are open for swimming through the Beach Water Quality Forecast mobile application (available for download from: www.epd.gov.hk/en/BWQApp) or the dedicated beach water quality forecast page (www.epd.gov.hk/en/BWQForecast) on the EPD's beach thematic website.

Note 1: Lifesaving services are provided by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department at 21 gazetted beaches, marked with an asterisk (*) above, from June 1. Due to the damage caused to the footpaths leading to Chung Hom Kok Beach by landslides, the beach is temporarily closed until further notice. For details, please refer to the Leisure and Cultural Services Department's Special Announcement (www.lcsd.gov.hk/en/beach/index.html).

Note 2: This refers to Discovery Bay Tai Pak Beach which is a non-gazetted beach that has no lifesaving service.

     In response to the Japanese Government's plan to discharge nuclear-contaminated water at the Fukushima Nuclear Power Station, the Director of Food and Environmental Hygiene issued a Food Safety Order which prohibits all aquatic products, sea salt and seaweeds originating from the 10 metropolis/prefectures, namely Tokyo, Fukushima, Ibaraki, Miyagi, Chiba, Gunma, Tochigi, Niigata, Nagano and Saitama, from being imported into and supplied in Hong Kong.
 
     For other Japanese aquatic products, sea salt and seaweeds that are not prohibited from being imported into Hong Kong, the Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department will conduct comprehensive radiological tests to verify that the radiation levels of these products do not exceed the guideline levels before they are allowed to be supplied in the market.
 
     As the discharge of nuclear-contaminated water is unprecedented and will continue for 30 years or more, the Government will closely monitor and step up the testing arrangements. Should anomalies be detected, the Government does not preclude further tightening the scope of the import ban.
 
     From noon on June 6 to noon today (June 7), the CFS conducted tests on the radiological levels of 186 food samples imported from Japan, which were of the "aquatic and related products, seaweeds and sea salt" category. No sample was found to have exceeded the safety limit. Details can be found on the CFS's thematic website titled "Control Measures on Foods Imported from Japan" (www.cfs.gov.hk/english/programme/programme_rafs/programme_rafs_fc_01_30_Nuclear_Event_and_Food_Safety.html).

     In parallel, the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) has also tested 52 samples of local catch for radiological levels. All the samples passed the tests. Details can be found on the AFCD's website (www.afcd.gov.hk/english/fisheries/Radiological_testing/Radiological_Test.html).
 
     The Hong Kong Observatory (HKO) has also enhanced the environmental monitoring of the local waters. No anomaly has been detected so far. For details, please refer to the HKO's website
(www.hko.gov.hk/en/radiation/monitoring/seawater.html).
 
     From August 24 to noon today, the CFS and the AFCD have conducted tests on the radiological levels of 57 392 samples of food imported from Japan (including 37 055 samples of aquatic and related products, seaweeds and sea salt) and 14 290 samples of local catch respectively. All the samples passed the tests.

     The public concert of the Innovative Music Making: MO x e-Orch music-training programme during the 2023/24 academic year will be held at 7.30pm on July 7 (Sunday) at the Concert Hall of Hong Kong City Hall. The programme is organised by the Music Office of the Leisure and Cultural Services Department, in collaboration with the Education University of Hong Kong. 

     Four digital music orchestras (e-Orchs) formed by about 80 students participating in the training programme from the St. Antonius Primary School, Yuen Long Merchants Association Secondary School, Buddhist Ho Nam Kam College and Hennessy Road Government Primary School (Causeway Bay), will showcase their original collaborative multimedia works at the concert. They will also collaborate with the wind and choral ensembles of the Music Office to perform original and arranged works. Musicians from the e-Orch@EdUHK Music Innovation and Design Lab will also be invited to present their original works at the concert in a performance combining music and technology. Various awards and certificates of attendance will also be presented to participating students at the concert as encouragement.

     Highlights include world premieres of local composers Wat Nga-man ("The Night Traveler") and Lau Hiu-lam ("The Midnight Serenade"), which are commissioned by the Music Office with sponsorship from the CASH (Composers and Authors Society of Hong Kong) Music Fund. Other highlights include rearrangements of Brahms's "Hungarian Dance No. 5" and Gershwin's "Swanee" by Lau and Wat respectively.

     To promote the integration of music and technology on school campuses, the Music Office launched the first Innovative Music Making: MO x e-Orch music training programme in 2022 for students of participating primary and secondary schools to form e-Orchs and learn musical knowledge and music creation with the use of tablets.

     Tickets priced at $60 are now available at URBTIX (www.urbtix.hk). For telephone bookings, please call 3166 1288. For programme enquiries and concessionary schemes, please call 2158 6467 or 3842 7776 or visit www.lcsd.gov.hk/en/mo/activities/schoolprogrammes/arttech/24art/2024imm.html.