Harbour views threatened by high-rise plan
Critics say that even Lion Rock will not look the same after 13 skyscrapers are built in the next three years
Ng Kang-chung
7 July 2004
South China Morning Post
When visitors go up to The Peak in 2007 to admire the view, they will see a rather different landscape and cityscape to the one they see now. And the chances are they will see a less majestic-looking Lion Rock, with skyscrapers clustered in the western Kowloon reclamation area partially obscuring the city's most famous natural landmark.
Despite public concerns about the natural look of Hong Kong, and ongoing efforts to preserve the ridgeline and harbour view, 13 skyscrapers, all of more than 60 storeys, are expected to rise on both banks of Victoria Harbour over the next three years.
The Housing, Planning and Lands Bureau presented a document to the Legislative Council last week that said six of the high-rise buildings would be at Kowloon Station, including residential tower Victory Arch, HarbourSide and a 110-storey commercial-hotel tower, both of which will be developed by Sun Hung Kai Properties (SHKP).
Two will be in Tsuen Wan (Chinachem Group's Nina Tower and Chelsea Court by Sun Hung Kai Properties), and five will be on the Sai Wan Ho waterfront, in eastern Hong Kong Island, as part of a residential project being built by Henderson Land Development.
Bureau head Michael Suen Ming-yeung said Chapter 11 ("Urban Design Guidelines") of the Hong Kong Planning Standards and Guidelines was published in November 2003, after the plans for the 13 buildings had been given official approval. The guidelines were therefore not applicable to these 13 high-rise buildings.
City watchers have observed that the "skyscraper syndrome" (as some critics dub it) set in with the relocation of the airport to Chek Lap Kok. When the airport was in Kowloon City, buildings in the harbour precints and Kowloon peninsula were subject to stringent height restrictions, mainly for flight safety. Height restrictions were also laid down in some land leases.
Concerned groups have been warning of a possible "wall" effect on the waterfront if too many high buildings were built along both banks of the harbour.
"The government is not unaware of the problem," a senior government town planner said. "But control is a sensitive word in Hong Kong, and developers have been a source of resistance."
In 1999, the Town Planning Board issued a vision statement for Victoria Harbour, pledging to make it attractive, vibrant, accessible and symbolic of Hong Kong.
Little seems to have been done, however, besides the setting up of a Harbour-front Enhancement Committee, which is largely a talk-shop with no real power.
Requests for the formation of a statutory harbour authority, similar to those found in the waterfront cities of Sydney and Vancouver, have been rejected by the government.
It was not until four months ago that the Town Planning Board drew up public planning guidelines with interim building height control measures for seven urban areas to protect the views of the ridgeline and the harbour. These were the Central reclamation area, North Point, Mid-Levels east, Wan Chai north, Southeast Kowloon, Hunghom, and Shekkipmei.
According to the guidelines, the southern tip of the west Kowloon reclamation and Tsim Sha Tsui would become major high-rise areas while there would be no additional high-rise zones outside this area. Buildings of 30 to 40 storeys would be allowed in the north of Hong Kong Island, while buildings above 60 storeys should be allowed "inland". Similar control on building heights have been proposed for developments on the southern part of Kowloon peninsula.
While the guidelines are not legally binding, they form a basis for drafting district zoning plans, and those plans will have statutory power, the Planning Department spokesperson said. "These will be the guidelines for the government to decide whether to approve developers' development plans."
Chartered town planner Richard Yu Lap-kee, partner of Nomometric Design and Planning Consultants, welcomed the move, saying the government was finally working in the right direction to protect the skyline. "When I look at Kowloon from Hong Kong Island, I find the view of Lion Rock fully blocked by One Peking Road. It really saddens me," Mr Yu said.
Architect Michael Chiang Hong-man, a champion for preserving the harbour view, said the measures have come too late.
"In some countries, such as Britain, they have laws to protect the rights of views. If developers plan to build high buildings that might block the view, residents can object," he said.
He also criticised the Town Planning Board for too easily approving planning applications.
Controversies erupted in the late 1990s when the board approved the construction of the 88-storey mega tower Two IFC, also built by SHKP.
"Some board members at the time had warned it would harm the view of the ridgeline," a Town Planning Board member said. "But others argued the view would be nicer if it was partly blocked, like peering through a window shade. The result was, of course, the Two IFC."
Architect Mr Chiang said control on building heights not only protected views but also helped to "ease pollution". He cited Causeway Bay, where air is often trapped by high buildings.
A Planning Department spokeswoman said the department had been reviewing certain zoning plans "to set out appropriate building height restrictions".
The department recently completed a review on building height restrictions for the Kowloon Bay and Kwun Tong business areas. A two-month public consultation was expected to end next Tuesday. Reviews on the Victoria Harbour waterfront were next on the agenda, she said.
Hong Kong Institute of Architects president Edward Shen said height limit was only one factor affecting urban design.
Legislator Lau Ping-cheung, who represents the architectural, surveying, and planning sectors, said a balance should be struck between good views and the impact on land value. "It is not a science, but largely depends on the social atmosphere," he said.
A lack of constraints on building heights would result in an "uninteresting skyline", Mr Lau said, while warning against imposing measures too strictly. "It could affect urban renewal projects. Developers tear down old buildings and build taller ones so they can have reasonable returns. If the height limit is too strict and makes renewal unprofitable, no one would invest."
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