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The Chief Executive in Council has approved the draft San Tin Outline Zoning Plan (OZP).
"The approved OZP provides a statutory land use planning framework to guide the development and redevelopment within the San Tin area," a spokesman for the Town Planning Board said today (December 15).
The Planning Scheme Area covers about 739.9 hectares of land. It is bounded by Tit Hang and Pak Shek Au in the east, San Tin Highway in the south, Mai Po San Tsuen in the west and Sham Chun River (Shenzhen He) in the north.
An area of about 21.6 hectares to the west of Tsing Lung Tsuen is zoned "Residential (Group D)" to encourage residential upgrading of the existing temporary domestic structures to permanent buildings. The existing villages and areas of land suitable for village expansion, with about 71.4 hectares in total, are zoned "Village Type Development".
The "Government, Institution or Community" zone covers about 16.7 hectares of land. The major facilities within this zone include the existing Lok Ma Chau Sub-divisional Police Station, the Lok Ma Chau Control Point and its expansion area and the police post at Ngau Kok Shan.
A number of sites are zoned "Other Specified Uses" ("OU"). A large area of about 172 hectares stretching from the Lok Ma Chau Control Point to Lin Barn Tsuen and lying to the north of Yan Shau Wai is zoned "OU" annotated "Comprehensive Development and Wetland Enhancement Area" to conserve and enhance the ecological value and functions of the existing fish ponds or wetland through consideration of application for development or redevelopment under a private-public partnership approach. An area of about 17.1 hectares on the northern side of Castle Peak Road and to the north-east of Mai Po Lo Wai is zoned "OU(Comprehensive Development to include Wetland Restoration Area)" to provide incentive for the restoration of degraded wetlands adjoining existing fish ponds and to encourage the phasing out of sporadic open storage and port back-up uses on degraded wetlands.
Some 183.1 hectares of land is zoned "Conservation Area" to conserve the ecological value of wetland and fish ponds which form an integral part of the wetland ecosystem in the Deep Bay Area and function as a substantial source of food supply for birds and as an important habitat for roosting and foraging of waterbirds. Areas located to the east of Mai Po Lo Wai, hilly areas at Tai Law Hau and its foothill areas surrounding Pun Uk Tsuen and Chau Tau are zoned "Green Belt" (about 188.6 hectares).
An area of about 25.6 hectares of land to the east of San Sham Road is zoned "Undetermined" pending detailed study on the future uses of the land.
The approved San Tin OZP No. S/YL-ST/8 is now available for public inspection during normal office hours at the Secretariat of the Town Planning Board, the Planning Enquiry Counters of Planning Department, the Tuen Mun and Yuen Long District Planning Office, the Yuen Long District Office and the San Tin Rural Committee.
Copies of the approved plan are available for sale at the Map Publications Centres in North Point and Yau Ma Tei. The electronic version of the plan can be viewed on the Town Planning Board's website at http://www.info.gov.hk/tpb.
Ends/Friday, December 15, 2006
Issued at HKT 15:05
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