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The Chief Executive in Council has approved the draft Yuen Long Outline Zoning Plan (OZP).
"The approved OZP provides a statutory land use planning framework to guide the development and redevelopment within the Yuen Long area," a spokesman for the Town Planning Board said today (October 31).
The Yuen Long area, covering an area of about 561 hectares, is situated in the middle of the Yuen Long plain in North West New Territories. It is bounded by the outer edge of Yuen Long Industrial Estate in the north, Yuen Long Highway in the south, the Yuen Long Kau Hui group of villages in the east and Long Tin Road in the west.
Seven sites totalling about 24 hectares are zoned "Comprehensive Development Area" for comprehensive development/redevelopment of the area for residential and/ or commercial uses with the provision of open space and other supporting facilities.
About 62.3 hectares of land is zoned "Residential (Group A)" or its sub-areas for high-density residential developments. Sites intended for medium-density residential developments are zoned "Residential (Group B)" or its sub-area, totalling about 33.8 hectares. A site of about 0.8 hectare at Wang Chau Road is zoned "Residential (Group E)" to encourage the phasing out of existing industrial uses through redevelopment (or conversion) for residential use on application to the board.
The existing villages and land reserved for village expansion, covering a total area of about 100.1 hectares, are zoned "Village Type Development".
To serve the local and/or district needs, about 44.9 hectares of land is zoned "Government, Institution or Community" or its sub-areas. The major existing facilities within this zone include the Yuen Long Swimming Pool Complex, Yuen Long Town Hall, Yuen Long Theatre, a community centre, a stadium, a clinic, a divisional fire station, a police station, Government offices, a bus terminus and various schools. Besides, some 52.1 hectares of land is zoned "Open Space" which is intended primarily for the provision of outdoor open-air public space for active and/or passive recreational uses.
A number of sites totalling about 109.2 hectares are zoned "Other Specified Uses" ("OU"). They include the "OU(Business)" zone and its sub-area covering the Tung Tau Industrial Area as well as other "OU" zones earmarked for various uses such as industrial estate, sewage treatment works and petrol filling station.
Three well-vegetated knolls of about 38.8 hectares are zoned "Green Belt" to preserve their existing natural settings.
The approved Yuen Long OZP No. S/YL/18 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, the Shap Pat Heung Rural Committee and the Ping Shan 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, October 31, 2008
Issued at HKT 16:15
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