Minutes of the 2nd Meeting of North District Council (2016-2019)
Date : 17 February 2016 Time : 9:30 a.m. Venue : North District Council Conference Room
Present
Chairman: Mr SO Sai-chi, SBS, MH* Members: Mr LI Kwok-fung (9:30 a.m. – 10:40 a.m.) Dr HO Shu-kwong, Raymond (9:30 a.m. – 2:57 p.m.) Mr LEE Koon-hung (9:30 a.m. – 12:32 p.m.) Mr LAM Cheuk-ting* Mr HAU Chi-keung (9:36 a.m. – 12:32 p.m.) Mr HAU Fuk-tat, Simon (9:30 a.m. – 12:32 p.m.) Mr YIU Ming* Mr CHAN Yuk-ming* Mr CHAN Wai-tat* Mr WONG Wang-to (9:35 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.) Mr TSANG King-chung, Kent (9:32 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.) Mr PANG Chun-sing, George, MH (9:40 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.) Mr TSANG Hing-lung (9:45 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.) Mr WAN Wo-tat, Warwick* Mr WAN Wo-fai, MH* Mr LIU Hing-hung* Mr LAU Ki-fung* Mr TANG Kun-nin, Tony, MH* Mr LAU Kwok-fan, MH* Mr LARM Wai-leung*
Secretary: Ms CHU Wai-lin, Francoise Senior Executive Officer (District Council), North District Office
Remarks: * Members who attended the whole meeting ( ) Time of attendance of Members
In Attendance
Mr YAU Kin-chung District Officer (North), Home Affairs Department Mr Patrick LAIDLER District Commander (Tai Po), Hong Kong Police Force Mr WONG Chung-chun, Dick Deputy District Commander (Border), Hong Kong Police Force
- 1 - Mr SOH Chun-kwok District Planning Officer/Sha Tin, Tai Po and North, Planning Department Mr TAM Chung-keung Chief Engineer/New Territories East 3, Civil Engineering and Development Department Mr KWUN Hing-yu, Joseph District Lands Officer/North, Lands Department Mr LUK Hing-chuen, Steve Chief Manager/Management (Tai Po, North, Shatin and Sai Kung), Housing Department Mr YAM Mun-ho District Social Welfare Officer (Tai Po/North), Social Welfare Department Ms YEUNG Min-jing, Anna Chief Transport Officer (New Territories East), Transport Department Mr YIM Ka-yee District Environmental Hygiene Superintendent (North), Food and Environmental Hygiene Department Mr WONG Shu-yan, Francis Chief Leisure Manager (New Territories North), Leisure and Cultural Services Department Mr WONG Yiu-wa Senior District Engineer/North East, Highways Department Mr LAU Shing-yan Engineer/North 4, Drainage Services Department
Item 2 Mr CHEUNG Kin-chung, Matthew Secretary for Labour and Welfare Miss LEE Cho-yi, Joey Assistant Secretary for Labour and Welfare (Poverty), Labour and Welfare Bureau
Item 3 Mr LAW Man-tim Chief Engineer/New Territories East 4, Civil Engineering and Development Department Ms CHIN Man-yi, Maggie District Planning Officer/Fanling, Sheung Shui and Yuen Long East, Planning Department Mr CHENG Kwong-lok Senior Land Executive (Projects Section), Lands Department Mr LEE Kwok-leung Manager/Clearance(2) (Clearance Office), Lands Department
Item 4 Mr WONG Kin-por Chief Engineer/Boundary Control Point, Civil Engineering and Development Department Mr LO Chi-fai, Steve Senior Engineer/Boundary Control Point 3, Civil Engineering and Development Department Mr Simon LEUNG Chief Resident Engineer, AECOM Asia Company Limited Mr Gilbert WONG Senior Resident Engineer, AECOM Asia Company Limited Mr Raymond MIU Construction Manager, CRBC-CEC-KADEN Joint Venture
- 2 -
Item 5 Mr WAN Man-leung Principal Project Coordinator/Housing Projects, Civil Engineering and Development Department Mr CHUNG Wing-hong Senior Engineer/4, Civil Engineering and Development Department Ms YIP Pui-kei, Maggie Engineer/8, Civil Engineering and Development Department Mr CHAN Ying-kin Executive Director, AECOM Asia Company Limited Ms Ruby YEW Associated Director, AECOM Asia Company Limited
Absent
Mr CHAN Shung-fai
Action Opening Remarks
The Chairman welcomed Members and representatives of government departments to the meeting and introduced the departmental representatives present at the meeting. He extended special welcome to Mr Matthew CHEUNG, Secretary for Labour and Welfare (“SLW”) who was accompanied by Miss Joey LEE, Assistant Secretary for Labour and Welfare (Poverty) to the meeting. Mr Matthew CHEUNG would present the paper on an agenda item later.
2. The Chairman reminded attendees that simultaneous interpretation service was provided at the meeting.
3. The Chairman said that Mr CHAN Shung-fai was absent from the meeting due to sickness but he had not submitted a medical certificate. Since Mr CHAN Shung-fai’s reason for absence was in compliance with the regulations set out in the North District Council (“NDC”) Standing Orders on Members’ absence from District Council (“DC”) meetings, he proposed that Mr CHAN Shung-fai’s application for absence be provisionally approved and that it would be formally approved after he had submitted the medical certificate.
4. The meeting provisionally approved Mr CHAN Shung-fai’s application for absence. His application for absence would be formally approved upon receipt of the medical certificate.
(Post-meeting note: Mr CHAN Shung-fai submitted the medical certificate after the meeting on the same day. His application for absence was formally approved according to the decision made at the meeting.)
(Mr Kent TSANG, Mr WONG Wang-to and Mr HAU Chi-keung joined the meeting at this juncture.)
- 3 - Action
Item 1Confirmation of Minutes of the Last Meeting
5. The meeting confirmed the minutes of the 1st meeting held on 7 January 2016.
Discussion Items
Item 2Public Engagement Exercise on Retirement Protection (NDC Paper Nos. 19/2016 and 37/2016)
6. The Chairman invited Mr Matthew CHEUNG, SLW, to present the contents of the consultation document on retirement protection.
7. Mr Matthew CHEUNG said that he attended the meeting to listen to the views of all parties because he knew that the public was concerned about the issue. The four major areas of the policy focus of the current-term Government were housing, environment, elderly care and poverty alleviation. The Government had always attached high importance to and would devote more efforts to address elderly issues, especially ageing population and the challenges that it brought about. Apart from attaching importance to the issues, the Government hoped to collect people’s opinions on retirement protection, especially those of the local community, through the public consultation on retirement protection.
(Mr George PANG and Mr TSANG Hing-lung joined the meeting at this juncture.)
8. Mr Matthew CHEUNG presented the consultation document on retirement protection (NDC Paper No. 19/2016) by PowerPoint which was set out in NDC Paper No. 37/2016.
9. Dr Raymond HO raised the following views and suggestions:
(a) It was an important issue whether a universal retirement protection scheme or a targeted retirement protection scheme should be implemented in Hong Kong. The Government should give the public a full picture of the universal retirement protection scheme, including future tax income and the tax burden of the younger generation, instead of simply using data to show that the implementation of a universal retirement protection scheme would result in government deficit. He believed that different parties in society would readily discuss the provision and use of resources on retirement protection;
(b) The middle-class and below would not be greatly benefited from the retirement protection scheme with the monthly payment of $3,500 from the Government in addition to their own pensions;
(c) At present, the price of a columbarium niche was over $219,000. It was so sad that the elderly could not enjoy a comfortable retirement life with their “funeral savings”;
(d) The retirement protection system was particularly significant for the North District as the problem of poverty was not minor compared to other districts and the elderly population of the North District was on the rise. Therefore, he proposed that the NDC establish a concern group to follow up the matters related to retirement protection.
- 4 - Action
10. Mr WONG Wang-to raised the following questions and views:
(a) He was glad that the current-term Government addressed the problems that Hong Kong would face in the future and put forward various proposals as a spur to more discussion and study by all sectors on the future retirement scheme in Hong Kong;
(b) He was from the Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions (“FTU”). The consultation document had only raised open questions on the improvement proposals on the four pillars of retirement protection without providing any practical improvement proposals. For example, an additional support would be provided under the zero pillar. There were no specific proposals to enhance the social security system;
(c) As stated by the SLW, the offsetting arrangement of the Mandatory Provident Fund (“MPF”) scheme under the second pillar had exploited workers. The seriousness of the problem was evidenced by the document which showed that the MPF offsetting amount in 2015 alone was over $5 billion. The FTU agreed that MPF offsetting was a complicated problem, yet it seemed that the Government had not made its best endeavours to solve the problem. He wondered whether the Government could abolish the MPF offsetting mechanism gradually in the coming decade and hoped that the SLW would relay his opinions to the bureau or discuss it with the Secretaries of Department;
(d) To address the concerns related to the third and the fourth pillar, he hoped that the SLW would study with relevant government departments methods to solve problems brought about by ageing population, such as increasing the supply of residential care places, strengthening the healthcare system and equipment and shortening the waiting time for consultation at hospitals. The ultimate aim was to squarely face the unsolved problems relating to retirement protection.
11. Mr LARM Wai-leung raised the following views:
(a) Although government officials, Members and the local community had repeatedly stressed the need to take care of the elderly, there was a lack of hardware facilities in Hong Kong in the past five to eight years. The old-old aged 80 or above could hardly be taken care of by their families alone, but there was a continuous shortage of facilities and places in the residential care homes for the elderly (“RCHEs”). Besides the Government’s vain attempts to build RCHEs, he did not think the Government had put in any efforts to address the issue in the past few years. Therefore, he welcomed the Government’s plan to build more RCHEs in 16 development projects and hoped that the Government would successfully implement the relevant development works;
(b) He believed that the general public had sufficient savings to support their life during the ten years from the statutory age of retirement (i.e. 65 years old) to 75 years old, or they could get assistance through the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (“CSSA”) Scheme when needed. He hoped that the Government would consider different measures to strengthen the assistance to members of the public who were in the later stage of the retirement life (i.e. after 75 years old);
- 5 - Action
(c) He said that the MPF offsetting arrangement was a double-edged sword which had both positive and negative effects. The Government could not abolish the arrangement hastily nor could it keep the arrangement unchanged. He hoped that the SLW would study the MPF offsetting arrangement with the business sector and the Members of the Legislative Council (“LegCo”) in a serious manner.
12. Mr CHAN Yuk-ming raised the following questions and views:
(a) The consultation document mentioned that the resources required for the universal scheme was almost nine to ten times of that for the targeted scheme. He asked whether the difference was related to the asset limit of maximum $80,000 under the targeted scheme. Some elderly people had told him that the requirement was too harsh;
(b) The public generally considered the MPF scheme problematic. However, the consultation document had not mentioned that the Government’s financial burden caused by the implementation of retirement protection would be relieved and there would be no need to impose any additional tax if the MPF offsetting arrangement was abolished in the future. He considered that the Government could give more thought in this direction.
13. Mr LAU Kwok-fan raised the following views:
(a) The Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong had always advocated adopting a three-tier retirement protection system to allocate resources to the people in need. He personally supported retirement protection and the concept of the multi-pillar model;
(b) After meeting with the residents and elderly people in the district, he learned that some families found it difficult to take care of elderly family members due to the cost of living. The Government should provide more incentives in the policy to encourage the family to play a more important role in elderly care services so that elderly persons could be attended to by their families and the financial burden of the families could be alleviated at the same time. The Government should not just be responsible for certain parts of the retirement protection and leave the remaining ones to the elderly’s families or other people;
(c) Due to the shortage of residential care services for the elderly, the demand for caring and residential care services for retired elderly people still could not be satisfied by the pecuniary assistance from different assistance schemes such as the Old Age Living Allowance (“OALA”), the Low-income Working Family Allowance and the future retirement protection. Therefore, he was of the view that if the Government could inform the public clearly how the eight to nine times of resources saved by the simulated “those with financial needs” option would be devoted to enhancing residential care services for the elderly and the support to elderly people in need, for example, increasing the number of residential care places, it might be able to gain public support for that option.
(d) Apart from providing pecuniary assistance to elderly people in need, the Government should also indicate in its policy that it would attend to the elderly’s community life and their individual needs in order to provide comprehensive support for retired
- 6 - Action
people and to show the Government’s commitment to retirement protection;
(e) The asset limit of $80,000 under the policy was too strict. Their “funeral savings” of $80,000 would soon be used up in case of emergencies or for healthcare needs. He considered that it was still acceptable even if the asset limit was doubled.
14. Mr LAU Ki-fung raised the following views:
(a) The universal retirement protection proposed by the Government could indeed benefit elderly people with different needs, but it was unreasonable to determine the eligibility for the assistance by asset limit. It was only natural that elderly persons had a certain amount of savings after years of hard work. Savings of $80,000 for an elderly singleton and $125,000 for an elderly couple were actually not enormous. Many people would be excluded from the scheme by the asset limit proposed by the Government;
(b) He asked whether the Government had considered the option of granting a monthly allowance of $2,500 to recipients of the OALA and old age allowance (“OAA”), and the participants of Guangdong Scheme (excluding CSSA recipients and retired civil servants) without the need to pass any means test and to declare assets under the universal retirement protection scheme; if so, whether the Government had any data on the difference in expenditure between his proposed option and the existing option.
15. Mr LARM Wai-leung made an additional remark. He noted from the consultation document that over 70% of the elderly people in Hong Kong were living with their families. He hoped that the Government would provide more incentives to encourage family support, so that elderly people could lead an enjoyable life with families and the burden of the families could also be alleviated.
16. In response to Members’ enquiries and views, Mr Matthew CHEUNG gave a consolidated reply as follows:
(a) The Commission on Poverty used the existing CSSA asset limit for elderly singletons (i.e. $43,500) as the benchmark and suggested that the asset limit of retirement protection should be twice of the benchmark. The asset limit of $80,000 proposed by the Government was not the specific proposal or the bottom line of the Government, but for the sake of comparing the expenditures of different options. He understood the strong public reaction and Members’ concerns over the issue. He hoped that different sectors should not focus on the asset limit, but should instead consider retirement protection under the two major principles of “regardless of rich or poor” and “those with financial needs”;
(b) Owner-occupied properties and columbarium niches for self-use in future were excluded from the assets of OALA applicants under the simulated option of “those with financial needs”. The rules of the simulated option were rather lenient as the Government understood the needs and difficulties of the elderly;
(c) He shared Members’ concerns about the development of the hardware facilities for services for the elderly and agreed that a mere cash allowance of a few thousand dollars to elderly people could not serve the purpose. The Government had indeed
- 7 - Action
faced challenges in building RCHEs, but it had not failed to deliver anything as claimed by Members. For example, the Government was implementing the Special Scheme on Privately Owned Sites for Welfare Uses (“Special Scheme”) to encourage social welfare organisations to make better use of the sites through expansion, redevelopment or new development. If all proposed projects under the Special Scheme were implemented, it was expected that about 9 000 new elderly service places would be provided, about 7 000 of which would be residential care places and about 2 000 would be day care places. Apart from the basic allocation from the Lotteries Fund, the Government had injected $10 billion into the Lotteries Fund in early 2014 to push the Special Scheme forward. Among all projects, the large-scale RCHE at Lam Tei in Tuen Mun would commence operation in year 2018/19, providing about 1 400 places;
(d) Most of the elderly people would choose to stay at home unless there was a genuine need to live in RCHEs. On one hand, he understood that the elderly people who were frail or had no carer had heavy demand for RCHEs, but they had to wait for a long time for residential care places. On the other hand, he considered that strengthening the support to the caretakers of the elderly was also important. The Government hoped to alleviate the pressure on the demand for residential care services and implement the policy of “ageing in place as the core, institutional care as back-up” through enhancing the ancillary facilities for ageing at home, improving day care and home care services and introducing service vouchers for elderly people to choose suitable elderly care services. In this regard, the Government would adopt an innovative approach to try out various proposals continuously while taking into account the entire healthcare system;
(e) Out of every $100 of the Government’s daily expenditure, $19.1 was used on welfare for the elderly, including cash assistance, OAA, CSSA, OALA, disability allowance, support for residential care services, daytime care services and Hospital Authority services. There were 1.12 million people aged 65 or above in Hong Kong, accounting for 15% of the total population of 7.3 million. In other words, 19.1% of the daily expenditure of the Government was used on welfare for the elderly, which was much higher than the proportion of elderly people in the total population. Nevertheless, the Government would continue to allocate more resources to enable elderly people to lead an enjoyable life;
(f) He shared Mr LARM Wai-leung’s views on the later stage of the retirement life and agreed with other Members’ views and suggestions on comprehensively strengthening the services for the elderly;
(g) The Government could try to consolidate data based on Mr LAU Ki-fungs’ proposed introduction of allowances. However, since civil servants’ retirement year was not predictable and the amount of their pensions varied, it was difficult to exclude civil servants from the option;
(h) The Government had an open mind on the retirement protection options and would handle the entire public consultation in a serious manner. It hoped to include the opinions from all strata of society into the decision making process. Apart from visiting DCs, he would also meet with chambers of commerce, trade unions, think tanks and university professors to listen to their opinions;
- 8 - Action
(i) The Government had reviewed the entire retirement protection system from a macro perspective and by adopting a multi-pillar approach, as suggested by Mr LAU Kwok-fan, instead of focusing on the provision of cash allowance of a few thousand dollars. He noted the opinions that the universal retirement protection could foster social cohesion and promote social harmony and he also understood the advantages of implementing universal retirement protection. However, the problem was whether the retirement scheme was financially sustainable without the need to raise tax or introduce new taxes, which would weaken the economic competitiveness of Hong Kong. He illustrated this point with the competition between Hong Kong and Singapore and explained that investors would compare the economic data of both places and make investment decisions accordingly;
(j) The Government had undoubtedly considered the well-being of the elderly when formulating the retirement protection scheme, yet it also needed to take into consideration various factors at the same time. He called on all parties to air their views on retirement protection, even though divergent, because two heads were better than one. As far as he knew, the Chinese University of Hong Kong had conducted an opinion poll on the retirement protection options. The results showed that about 45% of the interviewees supported the “regardless of rich or poor” option and 43% to 44% of the interviewees supported the “those with financial needs” option. The Government had earmarked $50 billion for the implementation of the entire retirement protection scheme and invited DCs to express opinions to the bureau through various means for further discussion of the details of the retirement protection scheme in the coming few months.
17. The Chairman thanked Mr Matthew CHEUNG for explaining the consultation document and hoped that the bureau would take into careful consideration Members’ views on the retirement protection scheme. He pointed out that the public consultation period of retirement protection would end on 21 June 2016. Members could express opinions to the Government by then.
18. Dr Raymond HO made an additional remark. He took the elderly’s savings for columbarium niche as an example to point out that the amount of “funeral savings” that elderly people left to their children or family for after-death services was in fact quite large; he did not mean that elderly people had purchased columbarium niche while they were alive. He appealed for the bureau’s understanding that people with little assets often could not benefit from the welfare policies of the Government.
19. Mr Matthew CHEUNG said that the bureau would take into consideration all factors mentioned by Dr Raymond HO.
(Mr LI Kwok-fung left the meeting at this juncture.)
Item 6 “Market Management Consultative Committee” of Public Markets under Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (NDC Paper No. 23/2016)
20. As the discussion of item 2 was finished ahead of schedule, the Chairman proposed
- 9 - Action to adjust the agenda and advance the discussion of item 6. Other Members agreed.
21. Mr YIM Ka-yee, District Environmental Hygiene Superintendent (North) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (“FEHD”), introduced NDC Paper No. 23/2016.
22. The Chairman said that Members could volunteer or recommend suitable candidates to join the Market Management Consultative Committees (“MMCCs”). The numbers of recommended Members needed for the MMCCs were as follows:
Shek Wu Hui Market 2 Members Luen Wo Hui Market 2 Members Sha Tau Kok Market 1 Member Kwu Tung Market Shopping Centre 1 Member
23. The following Members volunteered to join the MMCCs of the following markets:
Shek Wu Hui Market Mr HAU Chi-keung Dr Raymond HO Mr Kent TSANG Mr LIU Hing-hung
Luen Wo Hui Market Mr LAU Ki-fung Mr George PANG Mr Tony TANG
Kwu Tung Market Shopping Centre Mr LARM Wai-leung
24. The following Member was recommended and agreed to join the MMCC of the following market:
Sha Tau Kok Market Mr LEE Koon-hung
25. Dr Raymond HO and Mr George PANG withdrew as the number of Members who volunteered to join the MMCCs of Shek Wui Hui Market and Luen Wo Hui Market had exceeded the number of recommended Members proposed by the FEHD. However, the number of Members who volunteered to join the MMCC of Shek Wu Hui Market still exceeded the proposed number of Members. Thus it was necessary to vote on the candidates to be recommended by the NDC. Mr HAU Chi-keung obtained 8 votes; Mr Kent TSANG obtained 13 votes and Mr LIU Hing-hung obtained 9 votes.
26. Apart from the four Members of the constituencies concerned set out in the paper, the meeting endorsed the recommendation of the following Members to represent the NDC to serve as members of MMCCs of the following markets:
Shek Wu Hui Market Mr Kent TSANG Mr LIU Hing-hung
Luen Wo Hui Market Mr LAU Ki-fung Mr Tony TANG
Sha Tau Kok Market Mr LEE Koon-hung
- 10 - Action
Kwu Tung Market Shopping Centre Mr LARM Wai-leung
27. Mr George PANG said that he had served as a member of the MMCC of Luen Wo Hui Market for one term. The meeting room was spacious enough to accommodate two to three more Members to attend meetings. He believed that the methods to recommend Members to join MMCCs proposed by the FEHD were only departmental guidelines or criteria.
28. Mr YIM Ka-yee responded that the methods for the NDC to recommend Members to join MMCCs proposed by the FEHD were only internal departmental guidelines. Apart from recommended Members, other interested Members could also join the MMCC. The FEHD could also collect views of Members in relation to market management via other channels.
29. The Chairman said that Members’ active participation in various MMCCs showed that they were concerned about the well-being of the public and district environment. Members could convey the problems of markets, if any, to the District Environmental Hygiene Superintendent (North) directly.
Item 3 Proposal: Request Suspension of the Preparation Works of the North East New Territories Development and Resumption of Communication with Affected Residents of Shek Wu San Tsuen, Ma Shi Po and Shung Him Tong As Soon As Possible; and Propose the Setting up of the “Concern Group on North East Development” under NDC (NDC Paper No. 20/2016)
30. The Chairman said that the Development Bureau (“DEVB”) had responded to the above proposal of Members in writing. The Secretariat had sent the response to Members by e-mail on 16 February 2016 and distributed it to Members at the meeting. (The written response of the DEVB was set out in NDC Paper No. 38/2016.)
31. The Chairman welcomed Mr LAW Man-tim, Chief Engineer/New Territories East 4 of the Civil Engineering and Development Department (“CEDD”), Ms Maggie CHIN, District Planning Officer/Fanling, Sheung Shui and Yuen Long East of the Planning Department (“PlanD”), Mr CHENG Kwong-lok, Senior Land Executive (Projects Section) and Mr LEE Kwok-leung, Manager/Clearance (2) (Clearance Office) of the Lands Department (“LandsD”) to the meeting.
32. Mr LAU Ki-fung introduced NDC Paper No. 20/2016.
33. On behalf of the CEDD, PlanD and LandsD, Mr LAW Man-tim gave the following additional information on the DEVB’s written response made before the meeting:
(a) The first suggestion about “the request for suspending the preparation works of the North East New Territories (“NENT”) development” in the proposal: it had been more than a decade since the whole NENT development was first put forward. Hong Kong continued to develop in recent years, in particular in the areas of housing and society, resulting in the increasing demand for land. The Government had been
- 11 - Action
trying to increase land supply through various channels and the NENT development was one of the important projects. A total of around 60 000 housing units would be provided in the Kwu Tung North and Fanling North New Development Areas (“KTN/FLN NDAs”), of which more than 36 000 were public rental housing (“PRH”) and Home Ownership Scheme flats, accommodating new population of around 170 000. The NDAs would also provide extensive community ancillary facilities and industrial sites and it was estimated that the works would create around 37 700 employment opportunities. The statutory Outline Zoning Plan of the KTN/FLN NDAs had been approved by the Chief Executive in Council in June 2015. The CEDD would first commence the detailed design for the preparation works and phase one of the project in view of the large scale of the NDAs. The CEDD estimated that around 16 000 housing units could be provided under the preparation works, of which 13 000 were public housing units. As for the detailed design of the preparation works and phase one of the project, the NDC had been consulted on the proposed road and sewerage works on 30 July 2015 and the works were published in the Gazette on 31 December 2015 in accordance with the relevant legislation. The gazetting procedure was part of the public consultation and the gazettal period would end on 29 February 2016. According to the project implementation schedule, the main preparation works were expected to commence in 2018 if everything went smoothly subject to funding approval of the LegCo. The first batch of residents could move in the NDAs in 2023 at the earliest. As the public had a strong demand for housing, the Government had no plan to suspend the preparation works. All relevant departments would press ahead with the KTN/FLN NDAs project;
(b) The second suggestion about “the request for the DEVB to resume communication with the affected residents of Shek Wu San Tsuen, Ma Shi Po and Shung Him Tong as soon as possible” in the proposal: it was inevitable that some villagers would be affected in the development of the KTN/FLN NDAs. It was the Government’s usual practice to provide various ex-gratia allowances to and make land compensation and rehousing arrangements for those affected by land resumption and clearance exercises under the development project. Moreover, having regard to the scale and importance of the KTN/FLN NDAs, the Government announced in July 2013 that it had formulated a special ex-gratia compensation package which must be approved by the LegCo before implementation. The DEVB and relevant government departments had all along maintained communication with various stakeholders, including residents of Shek Wu San Tsuen, Ma Shi Po and Shung Him Tong. Departmental representatives had met residents of Shek Wu San Tsuen and Ma Shi Po separately for around five times in the last six months and had also approached villagers of Shung Him Tong for around seven times in the past year. The Government would continue to maintain communication with the relevant stakeholders;
(c) The third suggestion about “the request for the DEVB and the Transport and Housing Bureau to give an account on how the traffic planning in the future five to ten years would support the development of the NENT, Queen’s Hill and Liantang Boundary Control Point and affect the utilisation rate of the NENT Landfill” in the proposal: the department had conducted traffic impact assessments both in the planning and engineering study stage and the detailed design stage of the KTN/FLN NDAs. The scope of the study had covered the impact of NDAs on the North District and nearby
- 12 - Action
areas. The findings of the assessments showed that the road network of the new towns in Fanling, Sheung Shui and Kwu Tung could meet the needs of the new population if appropriate road construction and facility improvement were conducted. Under the Railway Development Strategy 2014, the Government proposed the construction of the Northern Link and Kwu Tung Station. The Northern Link would be connected to the existing Kam Sheung Road Station and Lok Ma Chau Spur Line on the West Rail Line to meet the demand for railway service of the population in the North District in future. The proposed Kwu Tung Station was expected to complete in 2023 to tie in with first population intake of the KTN NDA. Around 80% of the population in the KTN NDA would reside within 500 metres from the proposed Kwu Tung Station. This would enable residents to travel to and from Hong Kong and Kowloon by rail. As the above NDA was adjacent to the Fanling Highway, the DEVB proposed widening the Kwu Tung Section of Fanling Highway to increase its traffic capacity to meet the traffic demand of the NDA. The population of the FLN NDA would mainly reside in the eastern and western parts. The Administration proposed to provide two public transport interchanges for connection to the existing Sheung Shui and Fanling Stations respectively. Apart from the works of the connecting road of Liantang Boundary Control Point (“BCP”) which was underway, the Administration also proposed the construction of the Fanling Bypass to alleviate the traffic congestion of Fanling and Sheung Shui at present. It was believed that there would be no adverse effect on the traffic in the North District upon completion of the road construction and facility improvement.
(d) The fourth suggestion about the setting up of a standing working group in the proposal: the Government had all along maintained communication with residents. The DEVB and the relevant departments had conducted around 14 meetings or visits to listen to the views of various stakeholders in January and February 2016. The relevant government departments would report to the NDC the latest development of the NDAs project and the specific arrangement for rehousing and compensation when appropriate.
34. Mr Simon HAU raised the following views:
(a) The NENT project had presented a stunning picture but had not been materialised. The Government had started consulting the rural committees and residents concerned for more than a decade. It had not yet responded directly to the objection of residents so far but continued to conduct site investigation and road works;
(b) The CEDD had met residents at Ku Tung Public Oi Wah School in January 2016 but evaded the issue of compensation package. A village representative even told him that a staff member of the LandsD had claimed that Kwu Tung Village not a statutory village. He did not understand why the department had made such a remark;
(c) The staff of the CEDD had carried out ground investigation and survey field works without the consent of land owners. He hoped that the relevant department could respond in this regard;
(d) One of the sites involved in the development project was under judicial review but
- 13 - Action
the Government had not taken any follow-up action. This showed that the Administration had still failed to respond to the requests of residents and ease their mind;
(e) He was dissatisfied with the DEVB for only talking about the compensation package for residential care homes for the elderly in Shek Tsai Leng, but disregarded the requests of villagers of Kwu Tung Village at the meeting with the Sheung Shui District Rural Committee in November 2015.
35. Mr Tony TANG raised the following views:
(a) The Government had conducted consultations on the development project for years and nearly 300 000 households were waiting for PRH allocation at present, thus he supported the NDAs project in principle;
(As some observers had disrupted the orderly conduct of the meeting, the Chairman asked them to abide by Order 15(2) of the NDC Standing Orders which read: “If a person attending or sitting in on a meeting of the Council misbehaves in such a way as to disrupt the orderly conduct of the meeting, the Chairman may issue warnings to the person. The Chairman may order the person to leave the place of the meeting if the person persists in his or her misbehaviour despite warnings.” The meeting resumed thereafter.)
(b) The Administration had yet to reach a consensus with villagers on the proposal so far. He considered villagers’ wish to retain the existing living environment reasonable. The Administration should discuss solutions with stakeholders seriously and propose an appropriate compensation and rehousing package;
(c) The Government’s policy to resume the land of pre-existing residents or even force them to leave so as to develop the land for the use of residents of other districts showed that the Government had disregarded the requests of affected residents. He considered that the Administration should strike a balance between developing local districts and rehousing or compensating existing residents. The implementation of the NDAs project might be hindered if residents’ objection persisted. He suggested that the Administration thoroughly communicate with stakeholders.
36. The Chairman asked observers to keep quiet to avoid disrupting the orderly conduct of the meeting.
37. Mr LAU Ki-fung raised the following views:
(a) He appealed for the Government’s understanding of the affected residents and expressed dissatisfaction with the written response of the Government. He understood the needs of the community for public housing development but the NDAs project was unfair to the affected residents;
(b) The NDAs project gave rise to continuing controversy. The preparation works in progress under the project would affect residents of Shung Him Tong, Shek Wu San Tsuen and Ma Shi Po Village. Residents would lose their homes and their villages might even be destroyed. This showed that the Administration had failed to
- 14 - Action
formulate proper measures and conduct adequate consultation;
(c) The population of the NDAs would rely on the railway transport system of the North District. The future development of Queen’s Hill and public housing in the district coupled with the possible reduction in the number of train compartments of the East Rail Line would impose a heavy burden on the railway transport system of the North District;
(d) Instead of exploiting the disadvantaged and pushing through the project, he opined that the Administration should balance the interests of all parties. Given that there was a golf course and a large number of brownfield sites in the district, he did not understand why the Government did not use those land for development;
(e) The NDC provided a platform for residents to express their views and it was the responsibility of Members to reflect the requests of residents faithfully. He was disappointed at the response of the Administration.
38. Mr LAM Cheuk-ting raised the following views:
(a) He had contributed an article to Ming Pao in 2013 titled “為 打 高 爾 夫 家 園 危 危 乎 ”(Playing Golf at the Expense of Residents’ Homes). He summarised the article and pointed out that the Fanling Golf Course was one of the bones of contention of the NENT development. The lease of the golf course would expire in 2020. He doubted why the Government did not consider early resumption of part of the land of the golf course with a notice period of one year according to the lease conditions so that the piece of land could be used for the development of new towns in NENT to reduce the impact of land resumption on residents. He also doubted the response of the Administration in this regard, which said that the Home Affairs Bureau (“HAB”) was reviewing the policy on private clubs and the DEVB would consider how to handle the golf course upon completion of the review but it did not set a time limit on the review;
(b) He opined that the resumption of the golf course by giving a notice period of a year was in full compliance with the lease conditions, in the best interest of the public and was in observance of the law. If the Hong Kong Golf Club (“HKGC”) applied for judicial review on the grounds that the Government’s decision was contrary to its legitimate expectation to continue to use the land, the Government could extend the notice period to two or three years to reduce the exposure to the risk of lawsuits;
(c) If the HKGC had legitimate expectations on the continued use of government land, thousands of residents affected by the land resumption also had legitimate expectations. He doubted whether the Government had considered the lower risk of lawsuits filed by villagers due to insufficient financial capability compared to the rich and powerful HKGC. He opined that the Government should try to resume the golf course instead of sacrificing the interest of a small number of people;
(d) The Government had stressed many times the urgency of identifying suitable land for development and thus he did not understand why it did not consider redeveloping the golf course which was equivalent to nine Victoria Parks;
- 15 - Action
(e) It was inevitable that land had to be resumed and affected residents had to be rehoused in the NENT development under which the homes of residents’ would be destroyed. Given that the Government had never indicated any intention to resume the golf course but requested villagers to leave instead, he opined that justice had not been done.
(f) He opined that the Government could resume the golf course for development purposes and concluded by a remark made by an HAB official in Ming Pao on 9 July 2013, which read as follows:“under the terms of private recreational leases, the Government has the power to resume specific sites occupied under the leases for public use, provided that an appropriate notification period was given to lessees of PRLs. This being the case, the length of the renewal term should not have a bearing on the Government’s long term planning of land development”. He urged the DEVB to listen to the voice of residents.
39. Mr HAU Chi-keung raised the following questions and views:
(a) The Sheung Shui District Rural Committee had kept discussing with residents affected by the NENT development the issues concerned. Some affected residents hoped that the Government could propose arrangement for compensation and rehousing and most of the residents would be happy with local or in-situ rehousing. However, the Administration still had not proposed an appropriate proposal and he hoped that the Government would listen to the requests of residents;
(b) As for transport, he pointed out that there was traffic congestion at the roundabout at the Kowloon-bound Castle Peak Road from Kwu Tung every morning. The traffic of the whole North District would be paralysed should there be traffic accidents. In addition, the passenger handling capacity of trains at Sheung Shui and Fanling Stations had already reached its limit, and 200 000 new population would be brought to the North District by the development of Queen’s Hill, FLN and KTN. He asked whether the Administration had considered the problem of traffic burden in the district;
(c) The Sheung Shui Rural Committee supported the suspension of the preparation works of the NENT development and pointed out that the Administration should resume communication with residents before putting the project to the NDC for discussion.
40. Mr LARM Wai-leung raised the following views:
(a) He agreed that affected residents had the right to live in the area but he pointed out that the above proposal was not comprehensive because areas such as KTN were also included in the NENT NDAs;
(b) He considered that the land dispute mentioned in the proposal was a matter of land title and therefore it was not appropriate to discuss it at this meeting;
(c) He opined that the problem of “agricultural development and livelihood of farmers” in the proposal should be discussed in detail only if it was decades before, but there were only a few farmers at present and this was an opportunity for agriculture to undergo transformation;
- 16 - Action
(d) The North District had been beset by the problem of “overloading of community ancillary facilities” in the proposal for years. The NENT development should be seen as an opportunity to raise the capacity of ancillary facilities in the district ;
(e) The NENT development was an important development project and the public should monitor the implementation of the project pragmatically. He did not agree with the suspension of the preparation works of the NENT development.
41. The Chairman asked observers to keep quiet or they would be asked to leave if they disrupted the orderly conduct of the meeting.
42. Mr LAU Kwok-fan raised the following views:
(a) He opposed the suspension of preparation works of the NENT Development. As the number of households awaiting public housing units was close to 300 000, he supported the development of new towns in order to curtail the waiting time for public housing units. He also hoped that the works of the development project could commence as soon as possible;
(b) Project suspension might not help the residents as developers had used legal means to ask some of the residents living on private land to move out, dooming their chances to be compensated and rehoused. He pointed out that the bargaining power of some residents living on private land might be weakened as time went on;
(c) He had once proposed to safeguard residents’ rights by means of “freezing survey” and would like to know whether registered residents could enjoy the same rehousing and compensation arrangements after the development project had commenced if they had moved out due to various reasons;
(d) The DEVB and the relevant departments should expedite their discussion on the nuts and bolts of the development project and prioritise the construction works so as to provide convenience to residents. The Government had to enhance communication with residents and give out more project details to ensure smooth implementation of the project.
43. Mr Simon HAU added that he supported the suspension of preparation works of the NENT Development, pointing out that the DEVB had never addressed residents’ views and aspirations.
44. Dr Raymond HO said that he supported in principle the suspension of preparation works of the NENT Development but deemed necessary the setting of a time limit for project suspension. If the Government pressed ahead with the project now, the residents would probably be up in arms against it. He therefore hoped the Government would face up to the demands of the residents.
45. Mr LAU Ki-fung added that many farmers had yet to find suitable land for farming activities. He cited Ma Shi Po Village as an example, pointing out that in the absence of comprehensive assistance, residents could hardly find suitable arable land. He was also dissatisfied with the authorities’ failure to address directly the traffic burden borne by the
- 17 - Action
North District. As the land resumption for the NENT Development Project was expected to commence in mid-2017, it was believed that the authorities might fail to consider the views of the NDC and the residents and carried out improvement measures in time.
46. Mr HAU Chi-keung restated his support for the suspension of preparation works of the NENT Development. He said that the Government’s repeated district consultations had failed to produce results and shown the good faith of the authorities. The Government should provide more project details before consulting the district.
47. Mr YIU Ming raised the following views:
(a) Housing was an important issue of public concern and there were nearly 300 000 households awaiting public housing flats. If the public continued to oppose the increase of land supply through reclamation, development of country parks or new development areas, the overall development of Hong Kong would falter;
(b) He was dissatisfied that the opposition parties had opposed for the sake of opposition. He reckoned that the NENT Development Project was as urgent as ever and the interest of a handful of people should not affect the interest of the public. In view of this, he supported the implementation of the relevant project as soon as possible.
48. The Chairman asked observers to keep quiet.
49. Mr WONG Wang-to raised the following views:
(a) The NENT Development Project had been unveiled years before but its implementation was snarled up as many interests were involved. The project mainly involved two places namely KTN and FLN, and the rehousing of residents affected became one of the major concerns;
(b) The Government had to strike a balance between the housing needs of the residents affected and that of other Hong Kong people. He hoped the Government could enhance communication with residents;
(As some observers had disrupted the orderly conduct of the meeting, the Chairman asked them to keep quiet; otherwise, he would order them to leave the place of the meeting. The meeting resumed thereafter.)
(c) The preparation works was now running at full tilt and he reckoned that the housing needs of the general public should be met as soon as possible. Citing the sewage disposal problem of some villages and the serious traffic congestion in the North District in January as examples, he believed that the authorities should improve the environmental hygiene, community facilities and traffic network of the district through the development project.
50. Mr LAM Cheuk-ting added that he did not oppose for the sake of opposition. He understood that the implementation of government policies had affected some residents. He pointed out that the authorities should take heed to residents’ aspirations while Members should relay residents’ views in a practical manner and help the two parties to bridge their
- 18 - Action differences.
51. In response to Members’ enquiries and views, Mr LAW Man-tim gave a consolidated reply as follows:
(a) The preparation works of the NENT Development mainly aimed to provide public housing units and among the 16 000 housing units to be completed, more than 13 000 were public housing ones. In view of this, the authorities deemed the continuation of the preparation works necessary;
(b) As far as the compensation arrangements were concerned, the DEVB had visited the district many times and communicated with residents so as to get a better understanding of their aspirations. Residents affected by land resumptions and clearances under the project could enjoy the special ex-gratia compensation offered by the Government in July 2013. Moreover, the Government was now optimising the relevant compensation in light of the views of various parties;
(c) Regarding the capacity of the traffic network of the North District, the authorities had conducted a traffic impact assessment and would keep coordinating with relevant departments. It was believed that the proposed road construction works would have no negative impact on the North District.
52. Mr HAU Chi-keung added that the authorities’ reply was just an empty fob. He hoped the departments concerned could respond seriously to residents’ aspirations and provide relevant work schedules and rehousing options. He pointed out that he would not support the implementation of the project concerned if the authorities failed to consult residents properly.
53. Mr Simon HAU was disappointed at the authorities’ reply and he hoped the bureau could respond to Members’ views and enquiries one by one.
54. Dr Raymond HO reiterated that a time limit should be set for the project suspension, and that the authorities should set out concrete arrangements for the rehousing of residents.
55. Mr LAU Ki-fung asked whether the bureau would insist on rolling out the land resumption process in mid-2017 despite opposition.
56. Mr LAM Cheuk-ting added that the bureau had made no response to the disputes over the HKGC in Fanling and he was disappointed at that. He fully understood the discontent of the residents and pointed out that the authorities had not listened carefully to residents’ views.
57. Mr LARM Wai-leung added that district consultations on the NENT Development Project had been conducted since 2007 and he did not support the proposal of suspending the project after years of implementation. He suggested that the meeting should vote on the proposal.
58. The Chairman said that Members had just voiced their views. The proposal consisted of two parts: part one was to “request suspension of the preparation works of the NENT Development and resumption of communication with affected residents of Shek Wu San Tsuen, Ma Shi Po and Shung Him Tong as soon as possible” and part two was to
- 19 - Action
“propose the setting up of the ‘Concern Group on North East Development’ under NDC”. He invited Members to vote on part one of the proposal.
59. Dr Raymond HO restated his intention to set a time limit for project suspension.
60. The Chairman responded that as the agenda item was a proposal, not a motion, no amendments could be made now. Members could voice their views and vote on the proposal. He once again invited Members to vote on the first part of the proposal.
61. Dr Raymond HO remarked that he supported in principle the project suspension but would like to opt for abstention because no time limit was to be set.
62. The Chairman said that with 7 Members voted for the proposal and 10 Members voted against it, the first part of the proposal failed to obtain support from the absolute majority and was not passed.
63. The Chairman invited Members to vote on the second part of the proposal.
64. The Chairman said that with 7 Members voted for the proposal and 10 Members voted against it, the second part of the proposal failed to obtain support from the absolute majority and was not passed.
(Mr LEE Koon-hung, Mr HAU Chi-keung and Mr Simon HAU left the meeting at this juncture.)
Item 4Liantang/Heung Yuen Wai Boundary Control Point Site Formation and Infrastructure Works Contract 6 – Construction of Sha Tau Kok Road Interchange (NDC Paper No. 21/2016)
65. The Chairman welcomed Mr WONG Kin-por, Chief Engineer/Boundary Control Point, Mr Steve LO, Senior Engineer/Boundary Control Point 3 of the CEDD, Mr Simon LEUNG, Chief Resident Engineer, Mr Gilbert WONG, Senior Resident Engineer of AECOM Asia Company Limited and Mr Raymond MIU, Construction Manager of CRBC-CEC-KADEN Joint Venture, to the meeting.
66. Mr Gilbert WONG said that on top of a land crossing, Liantang/Heung Yuen Wai Boundary Control Point (“BCP”) also provided a link road of 11 km with four interchanges to enable the public to travel between the BCP and the urban areas and offer convenience to the residents of the North District. He asked Mr Gilbert WONG to briefly introduce the temporary traffic arrangements for one of the road interchanges (i.e. Sha Tau Kok Road Interchange) during the construction works.
67. Mr Gilbert WONG introduced NDC Paper No. 21/2016 with the aid of presentation slides as shown in Annex I.
68. Dr Raymond HO expressed concerns about whether the traffic flow of the road interchange mentioned above would reach its capacity. He asked whether the Government departments concerned could provide traffic flow data of the above road interchange and Kai Leng roundabout for reference and comparison.
- 20 - Action
69. Mr WAN Wo-fai said he hoped the above project could complete as soon as possible so that the residents of Sha Tau Kok could use that tunnel to travel to and from Kowloon. However, he often received complaints from the residents of Tai Tong Wu Village and Loi Tung Village that the tunnel construction works had affected them. He hoped the consultant or contractor could step up monitoring so as to minimise the impact on the residents and environment nearby. The relevant government departments or contractor should carefully consider where the bus stop should be relocated. Experience could be drawn from the relocation of bus stop of Kaw Liu Village to avoid objection from villagers in case the bus stop was to be moved to an environmentally undesirable location.
70. Mr George PANG raised the following questions and views:
(a) He believed that after the opening of Sha Tau Kok Road Interchange in 2018, a large number of outside vehicles travelling between Tai Po and Kowloon might be diverted to Lung Shan Tunnel and Sha Tau Kok Road. Since the traffic flow of Sha Tau Kok Road was not low, coupled with the one-lane-two-way traffic arrangement implemented at some of its sections, the traffic congestion problem might worsen if more vehicles were to use Sha Tau Kok Road in the future;
(b) He asked whether the dump trucks removing fill debris of Cheung Shan Tunnel construction project would take Sha Tau Kok Road via Kwan Tei to leave Fanling; and whether the fill debris be used for other purposes.
71. Mr Tony TANG said that the link road would link up the urban areas and Liantang/Heung Yuen Wai BCP and facilitate road traffic of villages in the vicinity of Sha Tau Kok, solving some of the traffic problem in an indirect way. He hoped the relevant government departments could take into account the future increase of visitors and traffic flow after the opening of Liantang/Heung Yuen Wai BCP and consider whether the BCP could handle the traffic flow from a technical point of view instead of short-term demand. He hoped the relevant government departments would maintain communication with villagers and take heed of the impact of the project and the environmental protection measures employed on the surrounding environment and residents even though the number of people affected was small and there was little objection to it.
72. Mr Warwick WAN asked whether the consultant or contractor could provide drawings setting out the location of the exits of the subway leading to Liantang/Heung Yuen Wai BCP. He also indicated that despite the growing public interest towards the natural landscape of Lin Ma Hang and its vicinity, a road section leading to that area fell into the frontier closed area and no vehicles could use that section of road without obtaining a Closed Area Permit in advance. As such, he asked whether the policy on frontier closed area and traffic arrangements would be changed to cope with this.
73. Mr CHAN Yuk-ming reckoned that the temporary traffic arrangements mentioned in the paper seemed quite good. With little knowledge about the geographical location of the places affected by those measures, he wanted to know whether residents living nearby, ancestral halls or graveyards would be affected despite the brevity of those measures. He added that the residents to be affected might not know when the measures would come into effect; nor did they know such measures were only temporary ones.
74. Mr LIU Hing-hung said that the traffic diversions implemented for the construction of Sha Tau Kok Road Interchange would certainly affect the traffic condition of Sha Tau Kok
- 21 - Action
Road. Moreover, many villagers had reflected to him that there were too many dump trucks travelling to and from the landfill via Sha Tau Kok Road. They feared that the traffic flow would greatly increase and traffic congestion would worsen as well. He suggested allowing dump trucks to collect and carry fill debris to the landfill during night time only.
75. Mr WONG Kin-por understood that Members were concerned about whether the authorities had given any forethought on the increase traffic flow after the opening of the Lung Shan Tunnel when they implemented the project. He pointed out that traffic impact assessment was conducted before the project to predict the traffic flow of that road in 2031. The results showed that the link road and the tunnel, after completion, could divert traffic flow of the district and relieve the traffic loading of Sha Tau Kok Road. Besides, with the environmental impact of the project in mind, the Government would place the contractor under its monitoring. For example, it would provide vehicle-washing basin for the washing of dump trucks and arrange street cleaning vehicles to wash Sha Tau Kok Road etc. with a view to minimising the impact on the environment as far as possible.
76. In response to Members’ enquiries and views, Mr Gilbert WONG gave a consolidated reply as follows:
(a) As far as Dr Raymond HO’s enquiries were concerned, there would be three traffic lanes at Sha Tau Kok Road roundabout and the junction connecting Sha Tau Kok Road and the roundabout would be widened to a two-lane road. When conducting traffic impact assessment study based on the traffic flow of Sha Tau Kok Road Interchange in 2021, 2026 and 2031, the consultant had already factored in the development and population growth in the vicinity. With the figure “one” suggested that the traffic flow was at full capacity, it was expected that the traffic flow of that roundabout would be about 0.5 and 0.6 during daytime and at night respectively. To calculate with the average number, the traffic flow of that roundabout would only reach half of its capacity up to 2031;
(b) He noticed long ago the environmental impact of the tunnel project on Loi Tung and the wet roads near the project site mentioned by Members. He pointed out that various measures had been implemented. For example, works vehicles departing the site would be checked and washed for several times; water sprinkling vehicles would clear the mud left on the roads by works vehicles; road sweepers, which were slow-moving, would clear the mud accumulated at the roadsides during weekends to avoid blocking the roads; workers would clear the mud spilt on the pavements before Lunar New Year etc. It was hoped that such measures could complement each other and minimise the impact of the project on the residents and environment nearby. Wet roads were unavoidable as water sprinkling vehicles would clear the mud and dust on the roads frequently;
(c) The contractor would erect a temporary sign of yellow background with black text one week before the relocation of the bus stop to inform the public about the relocation arrangement as soon as possible. Before implementation, the parties concerned had consulted the village representatives of Tai Tong Wu Village and Loi Tung Village while some of the villagers had also noted the relocation arrangement of the bus stop. He believed that the bus stop relocation would not cause any confusion;
(d) In response to Mr George PANG’s enquiries, he believed that the results of the traffic impact assessment study for 2031 mentioned earlier had partly reflected the
- 22 - Action
impact of the changing number of outside vehicles on the traffic condition of that road in the future. This Liantang/Heung Yuen Wai BCP project only involved the building of the link road between Sha Tau Kok Road Interchange and the new BCP as well as its four large-scale interchanges. The widening of Sha Tau Kok Road was not included;
(e) The contractor knew about the arrangement of removing by dump trucks the fill debris generated by the construction works of Cheung Shan Tunnel and understood the concerns of Mr George PANG. However, the fill debris generated by the construction works of Cheung Shan Tunnel, which was only about 850 metres in length, was less than that of Lung Shan Tunnel. The contractor would therefore arrange departing dump trucks with fill debris to use Man Kam To as far as possible. The application for tunnel blasting works was still pending approval from relevant government departments and the contractor would arrange dump trucks to remove fill debris during non-peak hours to avoid traffic obstruction;
(f) In response to Mr LIU Hing-hung’s enquiries, he hoped that the operation hours of the NENT Landfill could be extended. Although the proposed arrangement might involve environmental and legal problems, the issue could be revisited later;
(g) The above interchange construction project had affected about four to five households in Loi Tung Village. The consultant and the contractor had contacted the villagers affected with the village representative of Loi Tung Village. The villagers concerned were informed about the works arrangement of the above interchange as well as its impacts. Proper community relations work would be carried out and there was no need for Members to worry about that;
(h) As far as Mr Warwick WAN’s enquiries were concerned, a public car park was provided at Liantang/Heung Yuen Wai BCP buildings for drivers to park their vehicles before crossing the border by way of the BCP while pedestrians could use the subway near Lin Ma Hang Road and walk to the BCP for border crossing.
77. Mr WONG Kin-por said that Lin Ma Hang Village had been opened up but the CEDD, a works department, did not have the details on the opening up of the Lin Ma Hang Frontier Closed Area. The public could use private vehicles to travel to and from the BCP. Besides, there was also a public transport interchange at Liantang/Heung Yuen Wai BCP to benefit people taking cross-boundary coaches or other transportation means to the BCP.
78. Mr WAN Wo-fai noted Mr Gilbert WONG’s response to his concern but the real situation was not as ideal as what he had mentioned. He often received villagers’ complaints about the poor environment of the bus stop at Tai Tong Wu. And the continual complaints indicated that the environmental measures mentioned by Mr Gilbert WONG had seen little success. He could provide photos when necessary so that the consultant or contractor could have better understanding of the situation and take follow up action to reduce relevant complaints in the future.
79. Mr George PANG added that after the commissioning of Sha Tau Kok Road Interchange in 2018, more vehicles might enter the interchange and turned to Sha Tau Kok Road for Liantang/Heung Yuen Wai BCP, Luk Keng and Sha Tau Kok and Ta Kwu Ling Frontier Closed Areas, etc. With three traffic lanes, it was expected that the traffic flow of that interchange would be very high. Given that Sha Tau Kok Road adopted
- 23 - Action one-lane-two-way traffic arrangement, any traffic accidents would cause serious congestion and the traffic condition near Lung Shan Tunnel or Cheung Shan Tunnel might also be affected. The situation would resemble the traffic jam occurred at Kai Leng roundabout on 16 January 2016. In view of this, he wanted to know why no consideration was given to the converting of Sha Tau Kok Road to a dual two-lane traffic road and the implementation of other forward-looking complementary measures to ease traffic flow and reduce the chance of severe traffic congestion in the future. He hoped the Government could understand residents’ aspirations for improving the traffic of the North District through the implementation of Liantang/Heung Yuen Wai BCP Project as well as the public and private housing developments at Queen’s Hill in Fanling.
80. Mr Tony TANG raised the following views:
(a) He shared the same concern with Mr George PANG. When attending the past the Traffic and Transport Committee (“T&TC”) meetings under the NDC, the representative of the Transport Department (“TD”) mentioned that Sha Tau Kok Road could manage even greater traffic flow as only 30% to 40% of its traffic capacity was used during peak hours. However, there was divergence between the actual traffic condition of that road and the relevant data. To the best of his knowledge, the traffic congestion problem of that road persisted and would probably worsen in the days to come when the number of vehicles using Sha Tau Kok Road increased. There was no need for Government departments to respond to this question immediately but he expected that they would consider Members’ concerns when studying road widening as well as other nimble and forward-looking measures;
(b) Given the number of trucks carrying fill debris and construction wastes to the NENT Landfill had been increasing, the traffic congestion problem of Sha Tau Kok Road might deteriorate. He hoped the Government would provide long-term improvement measures in the future;
(c) Years ago the Environmental Protection Department (“EPD”) had promised to widen the road from Lung Yeuk Tau to Luen Wo Hui to a dual four-lane road to coincide with the opening of the new landfill site. The project had not yet made any progress and instead of consulting him or other stakeholders again, the department only informed them about the latest progress. He hoped the departments responsible for the construction of the Sha Tau Kok Road Interchange would take Members’ views seriously and discuss with them the issue.
81. The Chairman hoped the Government department concerned and representatives of companies would mull over Members’ views and concerns. It had been a perennial demand of the residents of the North District to improve the traffic condition of Sha Tau Kok Road and he hoped the Government departments responsible for the project would relay Members’ views and concerns to other relevant Government departments so that they could address Members and residents’ aspirations through the implementation of other infrastructural projects in the future. He looked forward to the smooth completion of Liantang/Heung Yuen Wai BCP so that the public could have a new border crossing point.
- 24 - Action
Item 5Development of the Site at the Former Queen’s Hill Camp in Fanling (NDC Paper No. 22/2016)
82. The Chairman welcomed Mr WAN Man-leung, Principal Project Coordinator, Mr CHUNG Wing-hong, Senior Engineer/4, Ms Maggie YIP, Engineer/8 of the CEDD, Mr CHAN Ying-kin, Executive Director and Ms Ruby YEW, Associated Director of the AECOM Asia Company Limited to the meeting.
83. Mr WAN Man-leung thanked the last-term NDC for its support to the Development of the Site at the Former Queen’s Hill Camp in Fanling (“FQHC Project”) which was progressing smoothly. The department would seek funding support from the Legislative Council and the construction works would commence within this year.
84. Mr CHUNG Wing-hong introduced the background information, planning details and proposed major works items of the FQHC Project with the aid of presentation slides as shown in Annex II.
85. Mr George PANG raised the following views, suggestions and questions:
(a) He supported the CEDD’s proposal to take away the pedestrian crossing at the junction of Sha Tau Kok Road and Ma Sik Road to allow more time for vehicles to drive through that section of road;
(b) He visited Sha Tau Kok Road with the relevant departments days before. The traffic there was not too busy since the visit was not conducted during peak hours and the construction works had stopped during Lunar New Year holidays. However, 12 000 domestic flats would be available after the completion of the FQHC Project and he estimated that about 40 000 people would move in. Residents would have to commute by private vehicles, public light buses or buses for Queen’s Hill was not located near any rail lines. If Sha Tau Kok Road remained a dual two-lane road, traffic jam might occur near the junction of Sha Tau Kok Road and Ma Sik Road during peak hours;
(c) He worried that the proposed Sha Tau Kok Road Interchange at Loi Tung would bring even more vehicles to Sha Tau Kok Road, adding to the burden of Sha Tau Kok Road;
(d) He asked the CEDD whether there were any remedial measures for the traffic problems of Sha Tau Kok Road during the construction of the FQHC Project as well as after people moved in the domestic developments at Queen’s Hill;
(e) He opined that traffic congestion had long existed at Kai Leng roundabout. To ease traffic flow, he suggested building a flyover straddling the roundabout to connect Jockey Club Road and Pak Wo Road despite the fact that improvement measures for that roundabout had been included in the FQHC Project;
(f) He asked whether the CEDD had made any preparations at the junction of Sha Tau Kok Road and Ma Sik Road to facilitate the construction works of the proposed Fanling Bypass in the future.
86. Mr Kent TSANG said that although Tai Tau Leng roundabout and Kai Leng
- 25 - Action roundabout were located far away from Queen’s Hill, it was believed that the more than 40 000 residents living there might also use the existing community facilities and road networks of the North District. As such, the improvement works for the two roundabouts were more urgent than ever. The North District did not oppose the development project but the Government should consider the pressure of the development exerted on the existing communities and residents; in particular, when the traffic conditions of the North District were far from satisfactory. He held the view that “little tinkering” could hardly solve the congestion problem of the two roundabouts, and that the departments should take the opportunity of the development of Queen’s Hill and work out improvement plans. They should not wait for the NENT Development Project or the Fanling Bypass project.
87. Mr Tony TANG raised the following views and suggestions:
(a) The FQHC Project had met little opposition as there were no residential developments within the project area. There were a few ancestral graves but the indigenous inhabitants were cooperative;
(b) At present, there were only about 20 000 to 30 000 people living in the area from Queen’s Hill to Sha Tau Kok and Ta Kwu Ling and the section of Sha Tau Kok Road near Lung Ma Road was already very congested. Most of the 50 000 people who would move to Queen’s Hill in the future were people from the grassroots and they had to commute by means of public transportation. If there was no large scale improvement works for Sha Tau Kok Road and Lung Ma Road such as adding more traffic lanes, Sha Tau Kok Road would fail to cope with the traffic pressure in the future;
(c) The NDC would keep working in line with various government development projects, for example the NENT Landfill, the Wo Hop Shek Cemetery, the Sandy Ridge Cemetery and the Sheung Shui Slaughterhouse while the Government should respond to residents’ views proactively with a view to solving the traffic problems of Sha Tau Kok Road and benefitting the existing and future residents of the North District.
88. Mr LAU Ki-fung said that the last-term T&TC had discussed the FQHC Project and Members had also voiced their concerns towards the traffic problems. More vehicles were using Sha Tau Kok Road after the NENT Landfill had begun to receive more domestic wastes recently. He was now enquiring of the EPD about the number of vehicles heading for the landfill via Sha Tau Kok Road with a view to assessing the impact on Sha Tau Kok Road. Residents from Queen’s Hill who had to travel to the urban areas directly or to town centre by public transportation means for connection to MTR would make the badly congested Sha Tau Kok Road even busier, which might in turn affect the traffic of Luen Wo Hui and other places in the North District. He opined that the various improvement proposals for roundabouts by the CEDD had failed to improve the traffic conditions of the section of Sha Tau Kok Road near Luen Wo Hui. He hoped the CEDD could provide more improvement measures.
89. Mr Warwick WAN remarked that it was disappointing to see the CEDD provide only “little tinkering” with no timetable attached as it had already consulted the full council of the NDC and the T&TC for several times on the FQHC Project. He looked askance at whether no unacceptable negative impact would be brought upon infrastructures in the vicinity after the implementation of the FQHC Project as described in the paper. He worried that the whole district might be weighed down by the unsolved traffic problems. He believed that
- 26 - Action residents of the North District were more familiar with district issues than were the departments counting only on data, and that the departments had underestimated the future traffic flow of Sha Tau Kok Road. He also hoped that the CEDD would provide information of Fanling Bypass together with that of the FQHC Project; and that a flyover straddling Kai Leng roundabout could be built to connect with Jockey Club Road and Pak Wo Road so that the emergency service of North District Hospital would not be affected by traffic jams at that roundabout. He held the view that the Government should not build PRH at the expense of infrastructural development.
90. Mr LAU Kwok-fan said that Members were all concerned about the traffic problems faced by the FQHC Project. He believed that the departments should provide enough ancillary transport facilities as no one would want to see the residents from Queen’s Hill affected by the congestion of Sha Tau Kok Road. He cited the bus accident which happened on Lui Ming Road and paralysed the bus service of the North District as an example, expressing his worry that if residents could only use Lung Ma Road and Sha Tau Kok Road, the sole access to Queen’s Hill, serious traffic problems might ensue once there was an accident. He suggested providing other alternative roads to further improve the traffic network of the North District, for example, to improve Po Kak Tsai Road and connect it with Lung Shan Tunnel or to build a new road to connect with Fanling Highway.
91. Mr LIU Hing-hung remarked that ancillary transport facilities were part and parcel of the FQHC Project. The traffic problems engendered by the poor road network of Queen’s Hill would be severe. He asked whether Lung Ma Road was a dual two-lane road or a one-lane two-way road and whether Lung Ma Road towards Sha Tau Kok Road could be widened before the development of Queen’s Hill.
92. Mr LARM Wai-leung said that although the CEDD had explained in the FQHC Project the improvement measures at different strategic traffic locations in the North District, it should also address Members’ views on traffic issues. He asked the CEDD to give a firm reply on whether a flyover would be built at Ma Sik Road interchange to connect Sha Tau Kok Road and the proposed Fanling Bypass to dispel Members’ doubts. Regarding the CEDD’s proposal to improve traffic condition by extending the traffic signal durations at the junction of Jockey Club Road and Lung Sum Avenue, he believed that the TD and the Hong Kong Police Force (“HKPF”) had to solve the illegal parking problem in front of the shops there before the proposal could produce any results. He said that although the FQHC Project would soon be implemented, Members would not readily support the project if ancillary transport facilities were not in place.
93. Mr WAN Man-leung responded that the CEDD would conduct traffic assessments to collect the most updated data to address Members’ concern about the increasingly busy traffic in the North District. Furthermore, the CEDD would study again with the departments concerned and follow up Members’ concern about the inadequacy of transport facilities under the FQHC Project to meet the future transport demand and Members’ request for early implementation of traffic improvement measures.
94. Mr CHUNG Wing-hong responded that to his knowledge, the works project about the interchange at Ma Sik Road connecting the proposed Fanling Bypass and Sha Tau Kok Road had been published in the Gazette and was expected to commence soon. Temporary traffic control measures would be implemented. The details would be reported by the section under the CEDD responsible for the project. The FQHC Project would not be conducted in tandem with the Fanling Bypass works. The widening of roads and
- 27 - Action improvement of the junction would be conducted first. The section in charge of this project would liaise closely with that in charge of the Fanling Bypass to consider the road design in the wide context of the traffic condition of the whole North District. In response to a Member’s suggestion of widening Sha Tau Kok Road, he explained that the section of Sha Tau Kok Road from Sui Wan Road to Ma Sik Road would be widened to three lanes under the FQHC Project, but there was no plan to widen the northbound road for the time being because land resumption was involved.
95. Mr George PANG suggested the CEDD and other departments provide the relevant plans of the works to Members through the Secretariat before consulting the NDC so that Members could peruse them beforehand.
96. Mr LARM Wai-leung asked if the Ma Sik Road Interchange was followed up by the section under the CEDD in charge of the Fanling Bypass works.
97. Mr YAU Kin-chung responded that the proposed Fanling Bypass was one of the road works items in the NENT NDAs. The Ma Sik Road Interchange, which would connect with Sha Tau Kok Road by a slip road, was one of the interchanges on the proposed Fanling Bypass. The departments concerned had consulted the previous NDC term about the Fanling Bypass in July 2015. The works project was being gazetted until 29 February 2016 and was expected to finish after 2020. The FQHC Project and the Fanling Bypass would be finished at almost the same time. The Liantang/Heung Yuen Wai BCP was expected to finish in 2018. The departments concerned would try its best to perfect the road works shortly and the traffic condition would hopefully be improved in the coming few years.
98. The Chairman requested the CEDD to seriously consider Members’ opinions to provide suitable long-term and short-term transport facilities in order to allay Members’ concern. He said that while the NDC supported the FQHC Project, the CEDD should ensure that the Project would benefit residents in the North District and would not cause any nuisances to them.
99. Mr Tony TANG remarked that he would not support the FQHC Project if the CEDD failed to provide suitable transport facilities, which would adversely affect residents of the North District.
100. The Chairman agreed with Mr Tony TANG. He requested the CEDD to take care of the related works of the FQHC Project and to honour its undertaking.
101. Mr George PANG suggested setting up an inter-departmental working group to deal with the FQHC Project and the Liantang/Heung Yuen Wai BCP to enhance communication and cooperation among different departments.
102. Mr YAU Kin-chung responded that the FQHC Project and the Liantang/Heung Yuen Wai BCP were under the purview of different sections under the CEDD. Other departments such as the EPD, the TD and the HKPF were also involved. The North District Office (“NDO”) would take charge of the coordination work if necessary.
- 28 - Action
Item 7 Proposal: Request NDC to Support the Issue of Letter to the Chief Secretary for Administration Asking for Relaxation of the Eligible Age Requirement for the “Voluntary Blood Lead Level Screening Scheme” to 16 or Below (NDC Paper No. 24/2016)
103. Mr LARM Wai-leung introduced NDC Paper No. 24/2016 and called for Members’ support.
104. Mr Kent TSANG strongly agreed with Mr LARM Wai-leung and hoped the Housing Department and other government departments would reassure residents in affected housing estates by acceding to their request. After the outbreak of the lead in drinking water incident, residents and even Members of the constituency concerned were not informed of the development of the incident. He hoped that the departments concerned could make available more information and adopt more measures to allay residents’ concern. He supported Mr LARM Wai-leung’s proposal of writing to the departments concerned in the name of the NDC and requested for follow-up.
105. Dr Raymond HO supported the proposal in principle because it could help to boost residents’ confidence and get the Government’s attention. He asked whether the proposal was aimed at raising the age limit eligible for the Voluntary Blood Lead Level Screening Scheme (“Screening Scheme”) to 16 and whether adults were the main target of the Screening Scheme.
106. Mr LAU Kwok-fan expressed strong support for the proposal and thought that the Screening Scheme should be implemented with retrospective effect. Since Ching Ho Estate was completed earlier than other affected housing estates, the period of residents’ exposure to lead water was longer. Children who had consumed drinking water with lead on a long term basis would be more vulnerable, but the current scheme had not taken care of such children and adolescents. Furthermore, the workload of blood examination of the Department of Health had reduced significantly and it was legitimate to request the department to address the needs of that group of residents. He therefore supported to extend the targets of the Screening Scheme to those at 16 years old.
107. Mr LAU Ki-fung agreed with the proposal. The residents of Ching Ho Estate were worried and dismayed having consumed drinking water with excess lead. He considered that the eligible age limit of the Screening Scheme should further be raised to those over 16. He pointed out that residents of other affected housing estates such as Kai Ching Estate and Tak Long Estate felt somewhat relieved after taking the blood test. He held that the NDC should offer support to the residents of Ching Ho Estate.
108. Mr LARM Wai-leung replied to Dr Raymond HO’s enquiry and said that the Screening Scheme was targeted at children under six years old at its inception, and was later extended to those under eight. It was proposed to further extend the targets to 16-year-olds or below having regard to the relatively older age of Ching Ho Estate.
109. Mr LAM Cheuk-ting supported the proposal of writing to the Chief Secretary for Administration (“CSA”). He pointed out that although the Government had softened its stance gradually after the Democratic Party had revealed the occurrence of excess lead in the drinking water in PRH estates, it might not accede to the request. The Government denied
- 29 - Action that there was such a problem at the outset. Although later the Democratic Party provided supporting data and its sampling method was certified by the Hong Kong Polytechnic University to have met the standards of international health organizations, the Government still doubted if the method adopted by the Democratic Party was fair.
110. The Chairman concluded that all Members supported the proposal. He asked the Secretariat to draft a letter to the CSA to convey the NDC’s concern in the name of the NDC. Secretariat
(Post-meeting note: The Chairman of the NDC sent a letter in respect of the request to relax the eligible age requirement of the Voluntary Blood Lead Level Screening Scheme to 16 or below to the CSA on 3 March 2016 (please refer to NDC Paper No. 40/2016). The Secretary for Food and Health was instructed to give a reply on behalf of the Food and Health Bureau and the Department of Health on 18 March 2016 (please refer to NDC Paper No. 41/2016).)
Item 8 Proposal: Request the Setting Up of the “Working Group on Parallel Trade Problems” under NDC (NDC Paper No. 25/2016)
111. Mr LAM Cheuk-ting introduced NDC Paper No. 25/2016. He added that parallel trading activities had not only affected residents but also shop operators in the district. He had received complaints from some shop operators who had run business in Shek Wu Hui for decades that they preferred not to implement the Individual Visit Scheme (“IVS”). This was because prior to the introduction of the Scheme, shop rents were lower and the business environment was more stable. Parallel trading activities had led to soaring residential and shop rentals and had provoked social grievances. He called on all Members present to support the proposal.
112. Mr CHAN Wai-tat supported the proposal. Before becoming a DC Member, he had had meetings and site visits with the relevant departments such as the NDO, the HKPF and the FEHD. He was of the view that parallel trading activities had to be jointly dealt with by various departments because both local residents and shop operators had fallen victim to the issue. He pointed out that besides IVS visitors from the Mainland, local residents had also engaged in parallel trading activities. Although the number of visitors visiting Hong Kong on the “multiple-entry” Individual Visit Endorsement had decreased, the problem persisted.
113. Mr LAU Ki-fung fully supported the proposal. He pointed out that parallel trading was a perennial problem and was especially acute in Fanling and Sheung Shui. In the run-up to the Chinese New Year, local residents were extremely discontented because MTR stations were very crowded, and the streets and pavements had been occupied by the parallel trading activities related to shops and pharmacies. Even if the Mainland had adopted the “one trip per week” Individual Visit Endorsements policy, the situation had not improved. He held that setting up a working group to cope with the problem was particularly important to the North District to enable Members to directly meet the representatives of all relevant government departments at the same time to discuss the problem, instead of meeting each department one by one.
114. Mr CHAN Yuk-ming supported the proposal of setting up a Working Group on Parallel Trade Problems. He pointed out that the problem had only been discussed briefly at
- 30 - Action committee meetings. The NDC had not discussed seriously with the departments concerned how to specifically deal with the problem.
115. Mr LAU Kwok-fan remarked that the NDC of the previous term had set up a Working Group on Streetscape Enhancement of North District to discuss the parallel trading and bicycle problems in the district. Some residents had complained to him that parallel trading activities had affected the streetscape and the daily life of residents. There had been conflicts in which parallel traders had bumped into residents. He therefore agreed to set up a working group to solve the problem and considered that the name and terms of reference could be further discussed.
116. Mr LIU Hing-hung was for the setting up of a working group because parallel traders had often blocked the pavements when packing goods in the street.
117. Mr LAM Cheuk-ting responded to Mr LAU Kwok-fan’s comment and said he noted that a Working Group on Streetscape Enhancement of North District had been set up in the previous DC term but he considered that parallel trading was not merely a problem about the streetscape. He would like to set up a working group to specifically deal with the parallel trading issue and the problems associated with it, for example, social grievances and Mainland-Hong Kong conflict.
118. Mr YAU Kin-chung stated that the NDO and relevant government departments would respect the NDC’s decision, but he drew Members’ attention to the fact that parallel trading did not contravene any laws. He said that Members and residents were mainly concerned about matters such as:
(a) some shops run business illegally especially on some “black spots”;
(b) some customers had bought too many and had inconvenienced other road users when packing goods in the street;
(c) the loading and unloading activities of shops might cause traffic congestion;
(d) too many goods were put in the trunks of taxis or there might even be a shortage of taxis which had been used to transport parallel goods;
(e) premises which were not permitted for retail purpose were used as storage premises of parallel goods.
119. Mr YAU Kin-chung continued to say that government departments would definitely exercise the power conferred on it by the law to take enforcement action against street obstruction by shops subject to availability of resources. Street obstruction by parallel traders was rather difficult to be dealt with by law enforcement. The Police had to see if it could invoke the Summary Offences Ordinance to take action. Even if there were offences of law, it could take enforcement action only when resources were available. It might be easier to tackle traffic-related problems. For example, the Traffic Branch of the HKPF had earlier taken enforcement action against taxis the trunks of which were overloaded with goods. The LandsD had registered the warning letters issued to storage premises of parallel goods in industrial buildings in Tuen Mun and Sheung Shui in respect of the breaching cases at the Land Registry (commonly known as “imposing an encumbrance”). The Immigration
- 31 - Action
Department and the HKPF would take enforcement action regularly or irregularly against those who entered Hong Kong on visit visas but later found to have engaged in activities not related to the prescribed purpose, especially being employed or were engaged in commercial activities. He believed that if the NDC set up a working group, there would be more opportunities to discuss the problem and strategies to deal with it.
120. Mr Joseph KWUN added that the LandsD had not simply imposed an encumbrance on the premises in Tuen Mun and Sheung Shui which had breached the law, but had gone to the extent as to recover the premises.
121. The Chairman concluded that Members supported the setting up of a standing working group called the Working Group on Parallel Trade Problems (tentative). The Secretariat would later send letters to Members to invite them to join the Working Group. Secretariat The terms of reference would be discussed by the Working Group and put to the next DC meeting for endorsement.
Item 9 Formation of Working Groups under NDC (NDC Paper No. 26/2016)
122. The Chairman introduced NDC Paper No. 26/2016.
123. Mr LAU Kwok-fan agreed to set up the proposed working groups. He remarked that apart from the North East New Territories Development, there were many large-scale projects in the North District such as the Queen’s Hill Development Project and the New Territories North Development. The Working Group on Housing and Town Planning of North District (“WGHTPND”) could coordinate and follow up such projects and thoroughly discuss related topics such as transport facilities. It was not necessary to set up a working group for each development project in order to avoid possible incompatibility among the projects. He considered that further discussion might be needed to see if the final name and terms of reference of the WGHTPND should be amended.
124. Mr YAU Kin-chung pointed out that the WGHTPND of the previous term had been following up large-scale projects in the district such as the Queen’s Hill Development Project, Fanling Area 48 and Sheung Shui Area 3, etc. If Members considered a certain issue appropriate, it could be discussed at the working group. He said that the terms of reference of the working group stated in the paper covered a wide range of areas. He believed that all development projects in North East New Territories could be covered, but amendments could be made if necessary. He added that if the proposals in the paper were endorsed, there would be a total of six working groups under the NDC, including the Working Group on Parallel Trade Problems (tentative) just approved in the previous agenda item.
125. Mr LAU Kwok-fan responded to Mr YAU Kin-chung’s additional comment and suggested amending the terms of reference from “To long-term follow up major issues such as allocation of land resources, planning of public housing…” to “To long-term follow up major issues such as allocation of land resources, following up and monitoring of major development projects in the district, planning of public housing…”.
126. The Chairman asked Members to consider the proposal of setting up five working groups stated in the paper and to advise on Mr LAU Kwok-fan’s proposed amendment to the
- 32 - Action terms of reference of the WGHTPND. There were no comments from Members.
127. The meeting endorsed Mr LAU Kwok-fan’s proposed amendment to the terms of reference of the WGHTPND and the proposals in NDC Paper No. 26/2016 after amendment.
Item 10 Applications for DC Funds (NDC Paper No. 27/2016 – Details of Funds Applications) (NDC Paper No. 28/2016 – Past Records of Organisations in Holding Activities)
128. The Chairman said that there were a total of eight applications for DC funds set out in NDC Paper No. 27/2016. Seven applications were for funds for community involvement projects from the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (“LCSD”) and one application was for revising the estimates of a district minor works item. The Secretariat had gathered information on the past records of the LCSD in holding activities and accordingly prepared NDC Paper No. 28/2016 for Members to assess if it had a good record in holding activities for the purpose of vetting the applications.
129. The meeting endorsed the eight funding applications and they were set out at Annex III.
Item 11 Appointment of Co-opted Members of NDC Committees for 2016 (NDC Paper No. 29/2016)
130. The Chairman said that the assessment panel made up of the Chairman and Vice-chairman of the NDC, the five chairmen of committees and the District Officer (North) had considered and endorsed the list of Co-opted Members for 2016. The member list was set out at Annex 2 of the paper.
131. The meeting endorsed the Members list set out at Annex 2 of NDC Paper No. 29/2016.
Item 12 Rules of Meeting for NDC (NDC Paper No. 30/2016)
132. The Secretary introduced NDC Paper No. 30/2016.
133. Mr LARM Wai-leung said that there were many issues to be discussed at the T&TC. The T&TC used to adopt the “3-2-1 mechanism” in which Members could speak for a maximum of three times on each item: three minutes at most for the first time, two minutes at most for the second time and one minute at most for the third time. The aim was to enhance the efficiency and time management of the meeting. The mechanism would work for committee meetings if Members were well-prepared beforehand. In the case of the full council of the NDC, the issues discussed were relatively more global in nature. He considered that three minutes for the first speaking time might not be enough and suggested five minutes.
134. Mr LAM Cheuk-ting understood that the number of Members of the T&TC was
- 33 - Action relatively larger and it might be necessary to impose a stricter rule on the speaking time, but he did not think that the same rule should apply to other committees. Unless the meeting became very long, there was no need to impose the rule for the time being.
135. Mr LAU Ki-fung stated that T&TC meetings became very long because departmental representatives were unable to give satisfactory responses even having spoken for three times. He did not agree to limit the number of times Members could speak to three and to allow Members to speak for only one minute for the third time. Since traffic was very important in the North District, much time was needed for discussion and it was inappropriate to limit the number and length of speaking time.
136. Mr WONG Wang-to was of the view that limiting the number and length of Members’ speaking time could push them to speak concisely. He shared Mr LARM Wai-leung’s view about the speaking time. He opined that the issues discussed at the full council of the NDC might be about government policies, such as the public engagement exercise on retirement protection discussed just then. Members needed more time than the time allowed at the T&TC to fully express their views. At the meetings of other committees, sometimes even if Members had spoken for three times, departmental representatives were still unable to respond to Members’ questions on the spot. The Chairman had to continue the discussion at the next meeting because relatively more important issues had to be discussed for two meetings before a consensus could be reached. He thought that imposing the rules could make Members and departmental representatives to be more concise in their speeches, thereby making the meeting more efficient.
137. Dr Raymond HO stated that it was desirable to limit the speaking time from the perspective of management, but he had doubt about item 2(d) of the paper and wondered if the clause empowered the Chairman to stop the discussion directly. Since some enquiries could not be satisfactorily answered until after several rounds of questions and answers, he did not agreed to the limitation on the number of times Members could speak. He suggested that a one-off question time should be introduced instead of limiting the number of times Members could speak. He considered that the Chairman’s authority to stop the discussion was contrary to the restriction on the speaking time.
138. In response to Dr Raymond HO’s comment, Mr YAU Kin-chung pointed out that within the context of paragraph 2 of the paper, the Chairman was actually empowered by item (d) to continue the discussion of issues which could not be satisfactorily addressed even after three rounds of speaking so that departmental representatives could not make use of the limitation on the number and the length of speaking time to prevaricate. The Chairman could also apply the clause to decide as appropriate if the item should be continued or be discussed again at the following meeting.
139. In response to Mr YAU Kin-chung’s response, Dr Raymond HO made it clear that he understood the contents of the paper and found the restriction on the speaking time acceptable because it was implied in the paper that the Chairman could make decisions in the light of the actual situation.
140. Mr YAU Kin-chung remarked that the precise meaning had to be considered in the wider context of the whole paper. Items 2(a), (b) and (c) stated the maximum number and length of speaking time on each item, while item 2(d) stated that the Chairman could decide whether the discussion should continue if the issue in question could not be adequately or fully addressed even after the procedures in items (a), (b) and (c). Item (d) did not empower the Chairman to stop the discussion. In case a consensus could not be reached after some
- 34 - Action time, the Chairman could decide what to do depending on the importance of the issue and progress of discussion of that committee.
141. Dr Raymond HO was satisfied with Mr YAU Kin-chung’s explanation and expressed support for the rules of meeting.
142. The Chairman said that Members had expressed their views on the item. Although Members had divergent views on the issue, a decision had to be made by majority rule. He asked Members to comment on a Member’s proposal to lengthen the first speaking time.
143. Mr YAU Kin-chung noted some Members’ comment that it was not necessary to impose the rules of meeting on other committees other than the T&TC. He pointed out that more Members in the new term had joined committees than in the previous term. Imposing the rule could enable the meeting to go more smoothly and Members to speak more concisely. He anticipated that many items would be put to committees such as the District Minor Works and Environmental Improvement Committee for discussion. If the rules were imposed and Members later found that the number and length of time allowed for speaking were inadequate, the committee could propose to amend the rules and report the proposal to the full council of the NDC. In addition, he considered that a Member’s proposal to lengthen the speaking time of the full council first a feasible alternative, but a decision on the lengthened time had to be made. He asked Members to give further comments on this before making a decision.
144. Mr LARM Wai-leung suggested that a “5-3-2 mechanism” be adopted for the full council. Members could speak for a maximum of three times on each item: five minutes at most for the first time, three minutes at most for the second time and two minutes at most for the third time.
145. Mr CHAN Wai-tat said that he was new to the NDC and was not familiar with the council operation. He considered that it might be slightly too hasty if it was decided at the current meeting to impose the rules. It was the first formal meeting of the full council and he had not attended the formal meeting of committees yet. He suggested leaving the issue to the next full council meeting for discussion.
146. Mr LAM Cheuk-ting shared Mr CHAN Wai-tat’s view. He thought that three minutes might not be enough for Members to clearly express their views on more thorny issues. It was not easy to express their views in a piecemeal fashion either. He said that Members did not tend to be long-winded and the Chairman was capable to conduct the meeting properly. It was therefore not necessary to impose the rules for the time being and Members could wait until meetings became very long in future. As Mr CHAN Wai-tat had just mentioned, the decision should be made a few meetings later. He found it unacceptable to impose the rules which had restricted Members’ room for deliberation.
147. Mr YIU Ming opined that rules must be laid down for every system. Different organisations would formulate the rules and regulations for their meetings. If the rules could not be formulated at this meeting, they could not be formulated at the following meeting either. The problem would merely repeat itself. He urged the Chairman to promptly lay down the proper and effective rules of the meeting for the appropriate conduct of DC meetings in future.
148. The Chairman pointed out that Members had actively participated in committees of
- 35 - Action the current term. The meeting time of committees would relatively become longer.
149. Mr LAU Kwok-fan said that only the T&TC chaired by him had established the rules in the previous term. The meetings had become more efficient and effective after the rules were laid down. He held the view that the rules had proved to be effective for the T&TC in the previous term. The rules could also protect the interests of the Chairman and Members. Even if the Chairman had stopped a certain Member’s speech, that Member could still continue to speak according to the rules of meeting. According to his observation, Members usually spoke for three to five minutes on general issues for the first time. It was therefore appropriate to limit the first speaking time to three minutes. When it came to more major issues, the rules could be amended. If there was endless discussion about the same item, the efficiency of the meeting would be impaired and it did not do any good to solve problems. He stated that it was appropriate to set a limit on the number and length of speaking time.
150. Mr TSANG Hing-lung said that he had served as a Co-opted Member of the T&TC in the previous term and was a new DC Member of the current term. The T&TC had been functioning smoothly with the imposition of the rules on speaking. He opined that the rules could enhance the efficiency of the meeting as mentioned by Mr LAU Kwok-fan and therefore supported the proposal of laying down the rules.
(Dr Raymond HO left the meeting at this juncture.)
151. The Chairman said that Members had fully voiced their opinion. Although the opinions for and against the proposal both carried weight, a solution had to be agreed on. He suggested that the rules on speaking for the full council should be laid down at the current meeting. Members were allowed to speak for five minutes at most for the first time, two minutes at most for the second time and one minute at most for the third time. He asked Members to comment on his proposal. The rules for committees other than the T&TC, as suggested by Mr CHAN Wai-tat, would be determined by individual committees and would be reported to the full council later.
152. Mr LAM Cheuk-ting thanked the Chairman for paying heed to Members’ opinion to let committees formulate the rules by themselves later. However, he was still opposed to laying down rules on speaking for the full council meeting because it was just the first formal meeting as mentioned by Mr CHAN Wai-tat. He considered that the NDC had been functioning effectively. The DC was a place to deliberate policies. If the meeting became very long, a rule to limit the speaking time could be imposed later. He asked the Chairman and Members to give it a second thought and enquired if a lunch break could be provided.
153. Mr LARM Wai-leung said it was natural for Members to duly perform their duty, but being well-prepared for the meeting beforehand was also their responsibility. He drew an analogy between playing mahjong and holding meetings in which rules had to be laid down in advance. He held that the rules on speaking should be formulated at the current meeting.
154. In response to Mr LAM Cheuk-ting’s comment, Mr YAU Kin-chung said that the principle for laying down the rules was not about whether the meetings were interminable, but about whether Members were given adequate time to speak and raise questions on general issues. There were no standards for the rules, but Mr LARM Wai-leung’s proposed “5-3-2 mechanism” could serve as a benchmark. He pointed out that there was also a restriction on speaking time in the LegCo. LegCo Members could speak once for a maximum of 15
- 36 - Action minutes. It was therefore reasonable to let Members speak for a total of ten minutes as suggested by Mr LARM Wai-leung.
155. Mr CHAN Wai-tat agreed to Mr LARM Wai-leung’s analogy. He agreed that the rules of meeting were indeed necessary, but he was still unfamiliar with the council operation and did not have any idea about how long the appropriate speaking time should be. Both he and Dr Raymond HO did not know the difference between a motion and a proposal until at the current meeting. He wished to discuss the matter again at the following meeting so that he could find out more about the council operation before making a decision.
156. Mr LAM Cheuk-ting said he could not really see why rules should be laid down. He agreed with Mr YAU Kin-chung that ten minutes should be enough for Members to express their views on general issues. When it came to more thorny or controversial issues, ten minutes might not be enough. He hoped that a certain degree of flexibility could be given to the Chairman to chair the meeting. He believed that Members’ active participation in the deliberation of policy initiatives was also a sign of accountability to the public. As the existing practice had been effective, he did not think that it should be adjusted, which would result in less room for deliberation. He shared Mr LARM Wai-leung’s view that Members should be well-prepared for meetings, but Members might still be unable to speak concisely even with preparation. Furthermore, he restated his suggestion of providing a lunch break because it was highly impossible that the meetings of the full council could end before 1:00 p.m. or 2:00 p.m.
157. Mr LAU Kwok-fan appreciated that new Members needed more time to familiarise themselves with the council operation, but he opined that Members had a duty to learn about the rules and should not make use of the excuse that they were new to the DC. The aim of restricting the speaking time was to improve on the meeting procedures. If the discussion became more intense, the Chairman could exercise his power under the proposal to prolong the discussion. He believed that although Members had different standpoints, the meetings could still be conducted in a noble way. He hoped that a restriction on the speaking time could be laid down at the current meeting so that future meetings could be conducted effectively.
158. The Chairman pointed out that after the rules of meeting were laid down, Members could still propose to amend the rules if they found any problems later. He suggested that the “5-3-2 mechanism” be laid down for the full council first. Whether the four committees other than the T&TC would establish rules of meeting would be decided by the individual committees and be reported to the full council.
159. Mr LAM Cheuk-ting requested that a voting on the speaking time proposed by the Chairman be conducted.
160. The Chairman agreed. The voting result was: 11 Members voted for the proposal and four Members voted against it. The Chairman’s proposal was endorsed by an absolute majority of votes.
- 37 - Action
Reports
Item 13 District Lands Office/North: Returns on Redevelopment of New Territories Exempted House Applications and Small House Applications in North District (NDC Paper No. 31/2016)
161. The meeting noted the contents of NDC Paper No. 31/2016.
Item 14 Report of the 4th Meeting of North District Management Committee in 2015 (NDC Paper No. 32/2016)
162. The meeting noted the contents of NDC Paper No. 32/2016.
Item 15 Matters Arising
“Arrangements for Handling of Declarations of Interests of NDC Members and Co-opted Members in Vetting Funding Applications” (Paragraphs 80 to 88 of Minutes of the 1st Meeting) (NDC Paper No. 33/2016)
163. The Chairman stated that at the first meeting on 7 January 2016, the NDC had discussed the Arrangements for Handling of Declarations of Interests of NDC Members and Co-opted Members in Vetting Funding Applications (“the Arrangements”). In respect of the NDC’s resolution on tier 3 of the arrangements for handling declaration of interests, the Secretariat had accordingly amended the Arrangements and the declaration form, which were set out at Annex 1 and Annex 2 of the paper respectively.
164. The meeting endorsed the amended Arrangements and the declaration form.
Item 16 Any Other Business
(a) Nomination of NDC Representative to the “Customer Liaison Group” of the Hongkong Post for 2016 and 2017 (NDC Paper No. 34/2016)
165. The Chairman said that the Hongkong Post had written to the NDC, inviting it to appoint a representative to be a member of the Customer Liaison Group of the Hongkong Post in 2016-2017 to help to enhance its operational efficiency and service standard.
166. The meeting endorsed the appointment of Mr CHAN Wai-tat to be the NDC representative to the Customer Liaison Group of the Hongkong Post.
- 38 - Action
(b) Nomination of NDC Representatives for Appointment as “Sports Ambassadors” (NDC Paper No. 35/2016)
167. The Chairman said that the LCSD had written to the NDC, inviting it to nominate two Members to represent the NDC as the Sports Ambassadors of the new term (2016-2017) to help to promote sports at the district level.
168. The meeting endorsed the appointment of Mr TSANG Hing-lung and Mr CHAN Yuk-ming to represent the North District as the Sports Ambassadors of the new term.
(c) Nomination of NDC Representatives for Appointment as Members of Various Committees under Tai Po and North District Social Welfare Office (NDC Paper No. 36/2016)
169. The Chairman said that the Social Welfare Department had written to the NDC, inviting it to appoint four Members to represent the NDC as Members of four committees under the Tai Po and North District Social Welfare Office (2016-2018).
170. The meeting endorsed the appointment of the following Members to represent the NDC as Members of the committees under the Tai Po and North District Social Welfare Office:
Tai Po and North District Co-ordinating Mr TSANG Hing-lung Committee on Family and Child Welfare Services
Tai Po and North District Co-ordinating Dr Raymond HO Committee on Elderly Service
Tai Po and North District Co-ordinating Mr Kent TSANG Committee on Rehabilitation Service
Tai Po and North District Local Mr LARM Wai-leung Committee on Services for Young People
(d) Invitation to be a Supporting Organisation of the Hong Kong Paralympic Day 2016
171. The Chairman said that the Hong Kong Paralympic Committee and Sports Association for the Physically Disabled had written to the NDC, saying that it would hold the Hong Kong Paralympic Day 2016 on 9 May 2016 to raise public awareness about para sports in Hong Kong, advocate public support for development of para sports in Hong Kong, and encourage people with physical disabilities to participate in sports. The Association invited the NDC to be a supporting organisation and asked for the NDC’s permission to use the NDC’s logo in its publicity materials. It also requested the NDC to display promotion posters in Members’ ward offices and to help invite the disabled in the district to participate in the activity. The invitation letter had been distributed to Members at the meeting.
- 39 - Action
172. The meeting agreed to accept the invitation from the Hong Kong Paralympic Committee and Sports Association for the Physically Disabled to be a supporting organisation of the Hong Kong Paralympic Day 2016.
(e) Nomination of DC Member to be the contact person of Gender Focal Points
173. The Chairman said that the Women’s Commission had written to the NDC, inviting it to appoint a Member to be the contact person of Gender Focal Points who would serve as the contact/resource person to assist in raising other Members’ awareness and understanding of gender related issues. The invitation letter had been distributed to Members at the meeting.
174. The meeting endorsed the appointment of Mr YIU Ming to represent the NDC to be the contact person of Gender Focal Points.
(f) Spring Reception of NDO and NDC
175. The Chairman said that the NDO and NDC would host the Spring Reception at 2:30 p.m. on the following day at Luen Wo Hui Community Hall. He asked Members to actively join the activity.
Item 17 Date of Next Meeting
176. The Chairman announced that the next meeting would be held at 9:30 a.m. on 14 April 2016 (Thursday) in the North District Council Conference Room.
177. The meeting ended at 3:30 p.m.
North District Council Secretariat April 2016
- 40 - Annex 1
二零一六年二月十七日
北區區議會 - 蓮塘 ∕ 香園圍口岸與相關工程
進度匯報
Client logo Client logo 口岸工地平整及基礎建設工程合約
Client logo 口岸工地平整及基礎建設工程合約 工地鳥瞰照片
Client logo Client logo 粉嶺公路交匯處工地鳥瞰照片
鳥瞰照片日期:28/12/15 粉嶺公路交匯處工地鳥瞰照片
鳥瞰照片日期:28/12/15 Client logo 於萊洞的龍山隧道北端入口工地鳥瞰照片
鳥瞰照片日期: 26/6/15 沙頭角公路交匯處長山隧道南端入口工地鳥瞰照片
鳥瞰照片日期:15/1/16 沙頭角公路交匯處長山隧道北端入口工地鳥瞰照片
鳥瞰照片日期:17/12/15 新口岸之工地平整及蓮麻坑路改道工地鳥瞰照片
鳥瞰照片日期:17/12/15 工程的進度
Client logo Client logo 興建粉嶺公路交匯處至沙頭角公路交匯處之連接路 圖片只供参考
龍山隧道的鑽挖工程 隧道南端入口的通風大樓工程
Client logo 龍山隧道的爆破工9/21/2016 程 斜坡修築工程 粉嶺公路交匯處工程
行車天橋預製組件裝嵌 行車天橋橋墩建造工程
行車天橋預製組件裝嵌 護土牆工程 Client logo 新口岸之工地平整及蓮麻坑路改道工程
蓮麻坑路的邊界圍網 蓮麻坑路的土地平整
地下水管鋪設 新口岸之工地平整及蓮麻坑路改道工地Client logo 興建沙頭角公路交匯處至新口岸之連接路工程
鑽孔樁工程 長山隧道北端入口的斜坡工程
沙頭角公路工地的土地平整 坪洋至蓮麻坑之間工地運Client logo料路 沙頭角公路交匯處臨時交通管理措施
Client logo Client logo 沙頭角公路交匯處臨時交通管理措施 vv
Client logo 9/21/2016 沙頭角公路交匯處臨時交通管理措施 vv
Client logo 9/21/2016 沙頭角公路交匯處臨時交通管理措施 vv
Client logo 9/21/2016 沙頭角公路交匯處臨時交通管理措施
Client logo 社區關係工作
Client logo Client logo 社區關係工作
• 駐工地人員及承建商會邀請相關持份者參與定期的社區聯絡小組會議
• 定期向北區區議會「關注興建蓮塘口岸工作小組」及「交通及運輸委 員會」匯報進展
• 派發工程通訊及主動與各村民聯絡，聽取訴求
• 設立查詢/投訴熱線
興建粉嶺公路交匯處： 6355 1731 興建龍山隧道： 6032 7831 沙頭角公路交匯處 6052 2613 新口岸之工地平整及蓮麻坑路改道工程： 6016 3334 工程顧問公司特設之工程熱線： 6469 9983 社區關係工作
2015年10月19日土木工程拓展署、北區民 2016年2月1日工程顧問公司與承建商一 政事務處、北區地政處及工程顧問公司與 起進行長者家居歲晚大掃除 萊洞村及大塘湖村代表會面
Client logo 2015年12月9日工程顧問公司代9/21/2016 表與北區 2016年1月16日土木工程拓展署與工程顧 區議員鄧根年先生會面 問公司出席竹園村盆菜宴
謝謝
Client logo Client logo Client logo Client logo 旅遊巴接載員工上落班
Client logo CE 63/2014 (CE) Infrastructure Works for Development at Queen’s Hill, Fanling – Annex 2 Investigation, Design and Construction
北區區議會會議
2016年2月17日
1 CE 63/2014 (CE) Infrastructure Works for Development at Queen’s Hill, Fanling – Investigation, Design and Construction 簡介內容 1. 皇后山發展計劃 - 背景資料及規劃細則
2. 擬議的主要工務項目 - 交通方面 - 污水處理方面 - 雨水處理方面
2
CE 63/2014 (CE) Infrastructure Works for Development at Queen’s Hill, Fanling – Investigation, Design and Construction 發展區位置
皇后山發展區
J16 J15
聯和墟 Luen Wo Hui RL5
港鐵粉嶺站 MTRC Fanling Station
3 CE 63/2014 (CE) Infrastructure Works for Development at Queen’s Hill, Fanling – Investigation, Design and Construction 皇后山地盤主要的發展建議 地盤B 「政府、機構或社 區」設施 包括污水 泵站、中電變壓站 和消防局
地盤2 地盤1 (約4公頃) (約13.65公頃) 中密度私營 公營及資助 住宅發展 房屋發展
龍馬路
地盤3 地盤4 (約2.35公頃) (約3.9公頃) 國際學校發展 地區休憩用 地發展 4 CE 63/2014 (CE) Infrastructure Works for Development at Queen’s Hill, Fanling – Investigation, Design and Construction 配合皇后山發展基建項目的主要資料
立法會申請撥款程序 - 2016年3月
施工 - 2016年下旬
公屋入伙 - 2020/2021年上旬
5 CE 63/2014 (CE) Infrastructure Works for Development at Queen’s Hill, Fanling – Investigation, Design and Construction 交通方面 擬建蓮麻坑 路交匯處
擬建沙頭角公 路交匯處
插圖一: 馬適路交匯處
將來道路網絡:
蓮塘/香園圍口岸工程之道 馬適路 路工程 交匯處 新界東北新發展區之道路 工程 皇后山發展 粉嶺公路擴濶工程
將來皇后山發展區往返大埔路線: 見插圖一 路線 1 : 沙頭角公路 - 寶石湖路 交匯處 粉嶺繞道 -粉嶺公路 港鐵粉嶺站 路線 2: 沙頭角公路 - 龍 山隧道- 粉嶺公路 擬建粉嶺公 路線 3 : 沙頭角公路 - 馬 路交匯處 會道- 粉嶺公路
6 CE 63/2014 (CE) Infrastructure Works for Development at Queen’s Hill, Fanling – Investigation, Design and Construction 交通方面 – 交通影響評估研究位置
皇后山發展區
J16 J15
評估範圍: - 3條現有及2條未來 連接路; 聯和墟 - 15個現有及1個未來 Luen Wo Hui 路口 RL5 圖例: 港鐵粉嶺站 J1 建議道路改善工程 MTRC Fanling Station 位置
交通影響評估路口/ 連接道路位置 7 CE 63/2014 (CE) Infrastructure Works for Development at Queen’s Hill, Fanling – Investigation, Design and Construction 道路工程 (2019年3月完成以配合公屋入伙) J1 寶石湖路交匯處 J2掃管埔路交匯處 J4馬適路 / 粉嶺樓路口 J8沙頭角公路 / 馬會道路口 J9沙頭角公路 / 樂業路路口 J11沙頭角公路 / 馬適路路口 J13沙頭角公路 / 萃雲路口 J15寶石湖路/ 彩園路口 J16馬會道/ 龍琛路口 龍馬路改善工程
8 CE 63/2014 (CE) Infrastructure Works for Development at Queen’s Hill, Fanling – Investigation, Design and Construction 污水處理方面
現有石湖墟污 水處理廠 擬建地底加 壓污水管 擬建污水 泵站 上水
龍躍頭
皇后山發展區 擬建無壓 污水管
9 CE 63/2014 (CE) Infrastructure Works for Development at Queen’s Hill, Fanling – Investigation, Design and Construction 雨水處理方面
新圍軍營 現有雨水箱形暗渠足 地盤2 夠收集龍馬路的雨水
現有雨水箱形暗渠足 夠收集皇后山發展 (地盤1至4的雨水 地盤1 地盤3 地盤4
10 CE 63/2014 (CE) Infrastructure Works for Development at Queen’s Hill, Fanling – Investigation, Design and Construction 建議縮減現有安樂村二號休憩處範圍
現有安樂村二號休 憩處範圍 為配合沙頭角公路/樂業路路口 改善工程，現有安樂村二號休 憩處部份綠化位置 (約160平方 米) 改為行人路
11 CE 63/2014 (CE) Infrastructure Works for Development at Queen’s Hill, Fanling – Investigation, Design and Construction
完
謝謝
12 CE 63/2014 (CE) Infrastructure Works for Development at Queen’s Hill, Fanling – Investigation, Design and Construction
13 CE 63/2014 (CE) Infrastructure Works for Development at Queen’s Hill, Fanling – Investigation, Design and Construction
14 CE 63/2014 (CE) Infrastructure Works for Development at Queen’s Hill, Fanling – Investigation, Design and Construction
15 CE 63/2014 (CE) Infrastructure Works for Development at Queen’s Hill, Fanling – Investigation, Design and Construction
16 CE 63/2014 (CE) Infrastructure Works for Development at Queen’s Hill, Fanling – Investigation, Design and Construction 交通方面 – 估計2020年皇后山交通流向
入皇后山 : 540 (450) 出皇后山 : 580 (450)
萃雲路
皇后山發展區
圖例:
790 (700) 上午(下午) 繁忙時段行車流量
17 CE 63/2014 (CE) Infrastructure Works for Development at Queen’s Hill, Fanling – Investigation, Design and Construction J1寶石湖路交匯處
延長寶石湖路南行直出迴 旋處的侯車線約60米
現有中央分隔處縮小及移 向寶石湖路北行車線方向
18 CE 63/2014 (CE) Infrastructure Works for Development at Queen’s Hill, Fanling – Investigation, Design and Construction J2掃管埔路交匯處
現有中央分隔處縮小及移 N 向掃管埔路北行車線方向
延長掃管埔路南行直出迴 旋處的侯車線約80米
19 CE 63/2014 (CE) Infrastructure Works for Development at Queen’s Hill, Fanling – Investigation, Design and Construction J4馬適路/ 粉嶺樓路口
N 更改現有路邊線，以容納兩輛 車輛一起左轉至馬適路
現有粉嶺樓路北行右轉至 馬適路行車線改為 右轉及左轉馬適路
20 CE 63/2014 (CE) Infrastructure Works for Development at Queen’s Hill, Fanling – Investigation, Design and Construction J8沙頭角公路 / 馬會道口
N
更改現有路邊線，以擴大 沙頭角公路左轉出交匯處 行車線的闊度 (約40米長)
21 CE 63/2014 (CE) Infrastructure Works for Development at Queen’s Hill, Fanling – Investigation, Design and Construction J9沙頭角公路 / 樂業路口 更改粉嶺樓路現有西 行路邊線，以配合擴 右轉行車線改 大中央行人過路處 為右轉及直行
改善中央行人 過路處
南行路邊線移向現有安 樂村二號休憩處，以增 行人路 現有單車徑及行人路跟隨 長南行直行車線 單車徑 移向安樂村二號休憩處
22 CE 63/2014 (CE) Infrastructure Works for Development at Queen’s Hill, Fanling – Investigation, Design and Construction
J11沙頭角公路 / 馬適路口
馬適路
加設右轉交通 取消現有行人過路處， 燈安全島 以延長行車綠燈時間 取消沙頭角公路現有北行 路邊線的綠化位置，以增 加一條馬適路左轉至沙頭 角公路的合流車道 單車徑
路旁綠化帶
沙頭角公路 – 龍躍頭段
取消沙頭角公路現有北行路邊 現有分段橫過馬路處 取消沙頭角公路現有南行路邊線 線的綠化位置及部分行人路， 改為直行通過 (馬適路 路口至萃雲路路口) 的綠
以增長一條沙頭角公路左轉馬 化位置，以增加一條右轉行車線
適路及直行候車線 安居街 23 CE 63/2014 (CE) Infrastructure Works for Development at Queen’s Hill, Fanling – Investigation, Design and Construction J13沙頭角公路 / 萃雲路口
行人過路處由直行改為 分段橫過，以增長車輛 通行時間 延長右轉新屋村候 車線約40米 更改北行左轉路邊線， 以改善左轉視野
延長約40米北行右轉萃雲 路行車線 行人過路處由直行改為 分段橫過，以增長車輛 通行時間
更改中央分隔欄及路邊 線
更改沙頭角公路現有南行路邊 線(馬適路路口至萃雲路路口) ， 以增加一條行車線
24 CE 63/2014 (CE) Infrastructure Works for Development at Queen’s Hill, Fanling – Investigation, Design and Construction J15寶石湖路/彩園路口
N
原來右轉寶石湖路線改為 直行及右轉寶石湖路
原來直行及右轉寶石湖路線改為 左轉寶石湖路，以增加左轉寶石 湖路行車線至兩條
25 CE 63/2014 (CE) Infrastructure Works for Development at Queen’s Hill, Fanling – Investigation, Design and Construction J16 馬會道 / 龍堔路口
現有中央分隔處縮小及移向 龍堔路南行車線方向，以擴 闊北行車線至標準7.3米闊雙 線行車
現有龍堔路南行右轉行車 線改為右轉及直行車線
現有龍堔路北行右轉行車 線改為右轉及直行車線
26 CE 63/2014 (CE) Infrastructure Works for Development at Queen’s Hill, Fanling – Investigation, Design and Construction 龍馬路改善工程
擬規劃的消防局
中華電力有限公司擬規劃的變電站 專用左轉線 兩段共約140米長 緊急避車處 約3米闊單車徑
兩邊各約2米闊行人道
兩條共約7.3米闊行車道
27 CE 63/2014 (CE) Infrastructure Works for Development at Queen’s Hill, Fanling – Investigation, Design and Construction
28 CE 63/2014 (CE) Infrastructure Works for Development at Queen’s Hill, Fanling – Investigation, Design and Construction
29 CE 63/2014 (CE) Infrastructure Works for Development at Queen’s Hill, Fanling – Investigation, Design and Construction
30 CE 63/2014 (CE) Infrastructure Works for Development at Queen’s Hill, Fanling – Investigation, Design and Construction 工程項目建築時間表 工程項目 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
土木工程署皇后山基 礎建設工程
房屋署皇后山公營房 屋發展工程
土木工程署蓮塘/香園 圍口岸發展工程
31 CE 63/2014 (CE) Infrastructure Works for Development at Queen’s Hill, Fanling – Investigation, Design and Construction
32 CE 63/2014 (CE) Infrastructure Works for Development at Queen’s Hill, Fanling – Investigation, Design and Construction
33 CE 63/2014 (CE) Infrastructure Works for Development at Queen’s Hill, Fanling – Investigation, Design and Construction
34 CE 63/2014 (CE) Infrastructure Works for Development at Queen’s Hill, Fanling – Investigation, Design and Construction J11沙頭角公路 / 馬適路口
改善工程前 改善工程後 可供車輛通過之時間 (綠燈時間) 80秒 90秒 北行線等候交通燈車龍大約長度 60-65米 35米 (約12-13輛私家車) (約7輛私家車) 南行線等候交通燈車龍大約長度 75-85米 60-65米 (約15-17輛私家車) (約12-13輛私家車)
35
Annex 3
Application for North District Council (NDC) Funds
NDC endorsed the following eight funds applications at its second meeting:
(A) Community Involvement Projects
Seven funds applications for Community Involvement Projects by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD):
Name of Programme Organiser Mode of Amount of DC Funds Implementation
District Free Entertainment Programmes to be co-organised by the LCSD in the North District in 2016-17
(1) District Free Entertainment LCSD Organised by the $796,600 Programmes from April 2016 to government March 2017 department
Recreation and Sports Programmes to be organised by the LCSD in the North District in March 2016
(2) Various Recreation and Sports LCSD Organised by the $561,029 Programmes in the North District government in March 2016 department
Recreation and Sports Programmes to be organised by the LCSD in the North District from April 2016 to March 2017
(3) Recreation and Sports Programmes LCSD Organised by the $1,038,391 Organised at Major Venues in the government North District and Those for department Persons with Disabilities
(4) Recreation and Sports Programmes LCSD Organised by the $1,113,271 Organised at Swimming Pools in government the North District and Those for department the Elderly
1
Name of Programme Organiser Mode of Amount of DC Funds Implementation (5) Outdoor Tai Chi, Hiking and LCSD Organised by the $670,069 Day/Residential Camps as well government as Recreation and Sports department Programmes for Low-income Families
(6) Recreation and Sports LCSD Organised by the $2,281,675 Programmes Organised at government Sports Centres in the North department District (except Aerobic Dance Training Courses and Fitness (Multi-gym) Training Courses)
(7) Aerobic Dance Training LCSD Organised by the $726,526 Courses and Fitness government (Multi-gym) Training Courses department under Recreation and Sports Programmes Organised at Sports Centres in the North District
(B) District Minor Works (DMW) Programme
A revised funds application for DMW programme:
Name of Project Department/ Mode of Revised Amount of DC Organisation Implementation Funds (1) Provision of Toilets and District Facilities DMW $9,620,000 Changing Rooms at Sheung Management programme Shui Garden No. 1 Committee (ND-DMW143)
2