The Chief Executive in Council has approved the draft Kuk Po, Fung Hang and Yung Shue Au Outline Zoning Plan (OZP).

     "The approved OZP provides a statutory land use planning framework to guide development and redevelopment within the Kuk Po, Fung Hang and Yung Shue Au area (the area)," a spokesman for the Town Planning Board said today (January 13).

     The planning scheme area, covering a total land area of about 90.27 hectares, comprises three sub-areas, namely Fung Hang (about 9.32 hectares), Kuk Po (about 62.82 hectares) and Yung Shue Au (about 18.13 hectares). It is surrounded by Plover Cove Country Park (PCCP) at the northeastern fringe of the New Territories and fronting Starling Inlet in the north. 

     The general planning intention of the area is to protect its high conservation and landscape value which complements the overall naturalness and the landscape beauty of the surrounding PCCP. It is also intended to consolidate village development so as to avoid undesirable disturbances to the natural environment and overtaxing the limited infrastructure in the area.

     About 5.88 hectares of land is zoned "Village Type Development" to designate both the existing recognised village and areas of land considered suitable for village expansion.

     About 0.06 hectares of land is zoned "Government, Institution or Community" primarily for the provision of government, institution or community (GIC) facilities serving the needs of the local residents and/or a wider district, region or the territory. The major GIC facilities under this zone are Kai Choi School and Hip Tin Temple in Kuk Po.

     About 3.94 hectares of land is zoned "Agriculture" to retain and safeguard good quality agricultural land/farm/fish ponds for agricultural purposes. It is also intended to retain fallow arable land with good potential for rehabilitation for cultivation and other agricultural purposes. This zone covers some fallow agricultural land mainly covered with grasses or shrubs in front of the existing village cluster in Fung Hang and those amidst the existing village clusters in Kuk Po Lo Wai.

     To define the limits of urban and sub-urban development areas by natural features and to contain urban sprawl as well as to provide passive recreational outlets, about 57.38 hectares of land comprising mainly woodlands, shrublands, streams and rocky/sandy shores, is zoned "Green Belt" to provide a buffer between the village type developments and PCCP and conserve the natural and rural character of the area.

     About 23.01 hectares of land is zoned "Conservation Area" to protect and retain the existing natural landscape, ecological or topographical features of the area for conservation, educational and research purposes and to separate sensitive natural environment such as Country Park from the adverse effects of development. This zone covers the mature woodlands behind the villages, the freshwater/brackish marshes comprising mainly intertidal water pond/mudflat, mangrove, reed bed and sea grass along the low-lying coastal areas in the three sub-areas, as well as the adjoining lower sections of the Ecologically Important Streams in Kuk Po and Yung Shue Au, and the estuarine mangrove in the western section of the coastal front along Fung Hang.

     The approved Kuk Po, Fung Hang and Yung Shue Au OZP No. S/NE-KP/2 is now available for public inspection during office hours at the Secretariat of the Board; the Planning Enquiry Counters of the Planning Department in North Point and Sha Tin; the Sha Tin, Tai Po and North District Planning Office; the North District Office; and the Sha Tau Kok District Rural Committee.

     Copies of the approved OZP 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 at the Board's website (www.info.gov.hk/tpb).

Ends/Friday, January 13, 2017
Issued at HKT 16:01

NNNN