CB(1)2367/09-10(01) for Discussion on 2 July 2010
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CB(1)2367/09-10(01) For discussion on 2 July 2010 Legislative Council Panel on Development Subcommittee on Harbourfront Planning Harbourfront Enhancement – Concluding Past Experience and Charting the Way Forward PURPOSE This paper presents Members with an overview of - (a) the Harbour-front Enhancement Committee (HEC)’s achievements and final recommendations on harbourfront management; (b) Harbour Unit of Development Bureau (DEVB)’s latest work on harbourfront enhancement; and (c) overseas experience in waterfront developments collated from visits made by the HEC and the Secretary for Development. HARBOUR-FRONT ENHANCEMENT COMMITTEE’S ACHIEVEMENTS 2. The HEC concluded its six years of service on 28 February 2010. It was set up in May 2004 to advise the Government on planning, land uses and developments along the existing and new harbourfront of the Victoria Harbour. The Committee comprised broad-based representatives from various professional institutes, harbour planning and development concern groups, the business sector and independent personalities in a bid to foster balanced discussions and build consensus on issues pertaining to the harbourfront. 3. Ever since its establishment, the HEC had served as an effective platform for the Government, stakeholders and other members of the public to discuss matters related to enhancing and beautifying the harbourfront, and reducing the adverse impacts of public and private infrastructure projects on it. It successfully drew up the Harbour Planning Principles and Guidelines1, which 1 Please refer to http://www.harbourfront.org.hk/eng/content_page/doc/HEC_guidelines_e.pdf for details of the Harbour Planning Principles and Guidelines. provide guidance to both the Government and private developers in considering development and redevelopment proposals on the harbourfront. The HEC also made significant contributions to the formulation of land use recommendations for the Kai Tak Development and Wan Chai Development Phase II (WDII). More recently, its submissions to the Government on the Urban Design Study for the New Central Harbourfront (UDS), as well as harbourfront enhancement proposals on both sides of Victoria Harbour under 22 action areas2 were highlighted in the Chief Executive’s (CE) 2009-10 Policy Address. 4. In addition, the HEC initiated and oversaw the implementation of a number of quick-win harbourfront enhancement projects, in collaboration with the relevant District Councils, such as the West Kowloon Waterfront Promenade, the former Wan Chai Waterfront Promenade (commonly know as “Wan Chai Pet Garden”), the Kwun Tong Promenade Stage 1 at Kwun Tong Public Cargo Works Area, and the Sheung Wan Stormwater Pumping Station cum waterfront park at former Sheung Wan Gala Point. 5. The HEC also explored a framework for the sustainable management of the harbourfront in line with the Harbour Planning Principles and Guidelines. It set up a Task Group on Management Model for the Harbourfront (TGMMH) in December 2007 to devise a practicable proposal on institutional arrangement and management model for the Government’s consideration. The Task Group reviewed a wide variety of local and overseas examples through extensive research, discussions and local and overseas visits. Its work was crystallised into a recommendation report (Annex A), which was considered and endorsed by the HEC at its final meeting in February 2010. The report’s main recommendations are set out in paragraphs 7 to 20 below. 6. In wrapping up its work, the HEC produced a concluding publication (Annex B) which captures its major work and achievements over the past six years. The publication consists of articles written by both non-official and official Members, which recapitulate the work of the HEC and its sub-committees and working groups. The book has been published and will be distributed to former HEC Members as well as the wider community, including the Legislative Council, District Councils, relevant non-governmental organisations (NGOs), professional institutions, universities, secondary and primary schools as well as public libraries. HARBOUR-FRONT ENHANCEMENT COMMITTEE’S FINAL RECOMMENDATIONS ON HARBOURFRONT MANAGEMENT 2 The 22 action areas and our harbourfront enhancement efforts therein are set out in Annex D. Please refer to paragraphs 21 to 27 of this paper for an overview. 2 I. Establishment of the Harbourfront Commission 7. The report of TGMMH carried two main recommendations. Firstly, it recommended the establishment of a non-statutory, advisory Harbourfront Commission to take its place with the following major roles and functions – (a) to play an advocacy, oversight and advisory role in the envisioning, planning, urban design, marketing and branding, development, management and operation of the harbourfront areas and facilities on a continuous and ongoing basis; (b) to exercise overall coordination and monitoring role for harbourfront planning, urban design, development and management to ensure effective integration of these major aspects; and (c) to foster and encourage the development, management and maintenance of the harbourfront through a wide range of contractual entrustment/partnership arrangements with the private sector (including the community, social enterprises and NGOs). 8. In the course of its deliberations, TGMMH recognised that a major challenge in our harbourfront enhancement work at present lied in the effective resolution of conflicts among various government objectives and mandates. Another challenge was the incompatible land uses of harbourfront sites inherited from the past, including some in private ownership. These two main considerations led to TGMMH’s recommendation to work on the basis of the existing institutional, policy and resource framework, under the championship of a non-executive Harbourfront Commission, backed up by high-level steer and resolve within the Government, to bring about holistic, integrated and responsive changes to the management of the harbourfront. The HEC was appointed by the Secretary for Development. To reflect the Administration’s priority attached to harbourfront work, TGMMH recommended that the new Harbourfront Commission appointments should be made by the Financial Secretary and the Secretary for Development should serve as Vice-Chairman to the Commission. 9. As with the HEC, TGMMH has recommended that the Commission should comprise non-official members as well as senior government officials and should continue HEC’s tradition of having both individual and organisation non-official members, which has been hailed as a 3 defining characteristic of the stakeholder-based approach of HEC. The organisation members are major stakeholder groups including professional institutes, harbour concern groups, green groups and business bodies. 10. As recommended in the TGMMH report, it is envisaged that the Commission may advocate, initiate and formulate initiatives, programmes and projects to enhance the planning, design, development, management and operation of harbourfront areas under the 22 action areas on both sides of the Victoria Harbour. These initiatives can be reviewed and updated on an ongoing basis, with the support and input of the Government. 11. In addition, the Commission will be apprised, on a regular basis, of all Government initiated or coordinated harbourfront developments/projects (including infrastructure/utility projects). Government departments will invite non-government project proponents to consult the Harbourfront Commission on relevant projects and proposals. This process is essential to the Commission’s effective coordination and monitoring of harbourfront planning, design, development, management and operation. To ensure that the Commission’s views are adequately reflected, project proponents should seek the advice of the Commission at the early stages of the implementation of the projects. 12. TGMMH has advocated that the Commission should maintain a high degree of transparency in its work. The Commission’s meetings will be open to the public. The agendas, papers and records of meetings will also be made public, except in situations where matters of commercial sensitivity and confidentiality are involved. Secretariat support to the Commission will be provided by the Harbour Unit, a dedicated team that has been handling harbourfront-related planning and land issues in DEVB since its establishment in April 2009. 13. The Government took on board these recommendations and will shortly establish the Harbourfront Commission to succeed the HEC. II. Wider Application of Public-Private Partnership in Harbourfront Development and Management 14. The second recommendation in the TGMMH’s report was the wider application of public-private partnership (PPP) in Hong Kong in the context of harbourfront development and management. This recommendation was made in view of the successful examples of management in both Hong Kong and overseas. 4 15. To come up with a practicable proposal for Government’s consideration, TGMMH had gathered relevant information and researched into various management models. Some of the local management models of areas and facilities that it had studied include - (a) conventional Government design-build-operate models, such as West Kowloon Waterfront Promenade and Wan Chai Waterfront Promenade; (b) private sector involvement through donation, entrustment or other forms of PPP, such as Tsing Yi Waterfront Promenade, Avenue of Stars, Jockey Club Creative Arts Centre at Shek Kip Mei Factory Estate and Chi Lin Nunnery Nan