RNTPC Paper No. A/ST/969A for Consideration by the Rural and New Town Planning Committee on 2.8.2019
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
RNTPC Paper No. A/ST/969A for Consideration by the Rural and New Town Planning Committee on 2.8.2019 APPLICATION FOR PERMISSION UNDER SECTION 16 OF THE TOWN PLANNING ORDINANCE APPLICATION NO. A/ST/969 Applicant : The Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC) represented by Masterplan Limited Site : Northwestern Part of Penfold Park, Sha Tin Racecourse, Sha Tin, New Territories Site Area : About 4,540m2 Lease : (a) STTL No. 590 (New Grant No. 22387) (b) restricted to (i) horse-racing, including a racecourse and racing- related facilities, together with the facilities provided to support the operations of betting; (ii) charity and nonprofit-making activities other than horse-racing and betting purposes; (iii) a members’ club includes commercial, retail, catering, social functions and other recreational activities as are not directly related to horse-racing and betting purposes; (iv) quarters to be used for the residential accommodation of horse-racing related personnel; and (v) the Penfold Park. Plan : Approved Sha Tin Outline Zoning Plan (OZP) No. S/ST/34 Zoning : “Other Specified Uses” annotated “Race Course” (“OU(Race Course)”) Application : Proposed Place of Recreation, Sports or Culture (Equine Experience Centre) 1. The Proposal 1.1 The applicant seeks planning permission to use the application site (the Site) (Plan A-1) for a proposed Place of Recreation, Sports or Culture (Equine Experience Centre) use during non-race days. According to the Notes of the OZP, ‘Place of Recreation, Sports or Culture’ is a Column 2 use in the “OU(Race Course)” zone requiring planning permission from the Town Planning Board (the Board). 1.2 The Site, with a total area of about 4,540m 2, is located at the northwestern part of Penfold Park. It is currently occupied by walking paths, a children’s playground and sitting out areas. 1.3 The proposed Equine Experience Centre (the Centre) is an education and experience facility offering pony care sessions, pony rides and photo opportunities ( Appendix Ib ). It is designed to educate and foster an interest in equine activities and targeted for school-aged children and general public. The 2 opening hours will be compatible with that of the race course operation and Penfold Park. The experience will span up to 2 hours, for up to a maximum of 30 people, in each of the 2 sessions per day. The actual advance booking arrangement and operation will be subject to detailed consideration at a later stage, taking account of community’s needs, horse welfare and morning track works. Rates and charges imposed by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) for the existing public riding schools in Hong Kong will be used as reference. 1.4 The proposed Centre comprises an administration block, a lecture space, a stable block, four pavilions for kids’ activities, mounting/dismounting of ponies and pony photo shooting spot. The proposed structures are small, limited to one storey and scattered to facilitate visitors’ and ponies’ movements. Except the administration building and the stable, all structures are of open-sided pavilion type design allowing visitors to enjoy open setting of the Penfold Park and the race course. The Site will be delineated from the majority of Penfold Park by means of fencing, landscaping or other structures in a natural manner to maintain the holistic park environment. There will be no flood light provided within the Site and the public address systems will be restricted to the respective part of the Site and not extensive. The proposed site plan, layout plan, architectural conceptual plan, section plan and landscape concept plan of the proposed development submitted by the applicant are shown in Drawings A-1 to A-5. 1.5 The proposed development parameters are as follows: Site Area About 4,540m2 No. of Structures 7 GFA 1,295m2 Plot Ratio 0.285 Site Coverage 29.6% Building Height 8.40mPD to 12.23mPD No. of Storey 1 storey 1.6 There are 162 trees within and immediately adjacent to the Site. All existing trees within the Site are of common species. No old and valuable trees (OVT) or tree of large size (i.e. DBH >lm) is found within the Site. The proposal will retain 79 trees and fell 83 trees, with compensatory tree planting to be provided within Penfold Park at a ratio of 1:1 in terms of number where appropriate to enhance the landscape of Penfold Park. 1.7 In support of the application, the applicant submitted the following documents: (a) Application form received on 28.2.2019 (Appendix I ) (b) Planning Statement (Appendix Ia ) (c) Visitors’ Experience Drawing (Appendix Ib ) (d) Further information (FI) received on 28.3.2019 (Appendix Ic ) (e) FI received on 6.6.2019 (Appendix Id ) (f) FI received on 3.7.2019 (Appendix Ie ) 3 1.8 The application was originally scheduled for consideration by the Rural and New Town Planning Committee (the Committee) on 12.4.2019. Upon request by the applicant, the Committee agreed to defer a decision on the application for two months on 12.4.2019. The applicant subsequently submitted FIs in response to the departmental comments received (Appendices Ic to Ie ). The application is re- scheduled for consideration by the Committee on 2.8.2019. 2. Justifications from the Applicant The justifications put forth by the applicant in support of the application are detailed in the planning statement at Appendix Ia and FIs at Appendices Ic to Ie . They can be summarized as follows: (a) the proposed use is to provide recreational facilities serving the public, which is in line with the planning intention of the “OU(Race Course)” zone; (b) the proposal will encourage horse riding as a sport, by offering interactions with ponies, and riding experiences to the people of Hong Kong. The proposal will also add value to Penfold Park and contribute to visitors’ experience; (c) the proposal was presented to the Development and Housing Committee (DHC) of Sha Tin District Council (STDC) by the HKJC on 6.7.2017 and 3.5.2018. The proposal was welcomed and supported by the DHC of STDC as the proposed Centre will become a popular community facility for public enjoyment; (d) the Site occupies no more than 5% of the total Penfold Park area. The layout design will blend in with the rest of Penfold Park. Careful considerations have been given to the building siting, height and dimensions, materials and colours, together with tree planting and landscape design, for the benefits of the existing race course patronage and the future Penfold Park visitors; (e) the Site is centrally located in the New Territories, close to major transport routes, with good public transport access encouraging use of the facilities. The opening hours of the proposed Centre will be compatible with that of the race course operation and Penfold Park. Reference to best practices from similar activities and working modules will be made where applicable or necessary; (f) the proposed Centre will operate during non-race days through a booking system to provide activities that spans up to 2 hours for up to a maximum of 30 people per session. The generated traffic would be low. Significant impact on the existing traffic and parking arrangements and the surrounding road network is not anticipated; (g) there will be a charge for booking activities of the proposed Centre by making reference to LCSD’s public riding schools in Hong Kong. The charge will assist to reduce the number of ‘no-shows’; (h) to ensure animal safety and hygiene, the safety and enjoyment of the visitors, and operational need of the proposed Centre, the Site will be delineated from the majority of Penfold Park by means of fencing, landscaping or other structures in a natural manner to maintain the holistic park environment; 4 (i) the provision of toilets, drinking fountains, vending machines and children play facilities within the park will be further improved and upgraded upon completion of improvement works at the Penfold Park to cater for the additional visitors. In response to STDC’s request and as part of the Penfold Park improvement plan, a dog park will be designated within the park in future to enhance public safety and provide an enjoyable environment for dogs as well as families and kids; (j) a mixture of mitigation measures (e.g. applying silencers or mufflers on the construction equipment; using site hoardings to mitigate visual impact and deploying temporary noise barriers, etc.) will be implemented during construction works to minimise disturbance to the roosting ardeids. The mitigation measures will make reference to the Hong Kong Bird Watchers Society (HKBWS) Guidelines and tailored to suit the Penfold Park situation; and (k) the schedule of the construction works will be staggered so that those excavation and more disturbing works will only take place during the non-breeding season, namely, from September to February. The applicant will seek help from HKBWS to establish the proactive mitigation measures to forestall any direct impact on the bird species. 3. Compliance with the “Owner’s Consent/Notification” Requirements The applicant is the sole “current land owner”. Detailed information would be deposited at the meeting for Members’ inspection. 4. Previous Application There is no previous application at the Site. 5. Similar Application There is one similar application (No. A/ST/961) for ‘Place of Recreation, Sports or Culture’ use within the same “OU(Race Course)” zone on the OZP, which was approved with conditions by the Committee on 21.12.2018 on the consideration that the proposed use is in line with the planning intention and supported by STDC; and adverse impact on traffic, environment and visual aspects is not anticipated.