New Hotel in Sai Kung
No longer sleepless
One year ago the Lands Department released information that a site designated for “Commercial & Tourism Related Uses (including Hotel)” along the waterfront in Sai Kung would be auctioned in the summer of 2008 for a hotel. Few people took notice at the time.
The plan for this designated hotel site, in the Outline Zoning Plan (OZP) S/SK-SKT/4, was approved and gazetted in January 2007. As with all OZPs, this plan was publicized through the Town Planning Board and posted to invite comments before undergoing revisions based upon comments received from individuals and the Sai Kung District Council.
The most recent announcement of the upcoming land sale in DD221 between SK Central Lee Siu Yam Memorial School and the old Beach Resort Hotel has unleashed strong feelings – both for and against. Many feel that the land should be rezoned for a public park; others suggest that there was not enough public input into the zoning in this prime waterfront location in the first place. Some say that there is a need for a quality hotel and the waterfront is most appropriate.
Explore receives over a dozen emails or phone calls each month from tourists and local residents alike desperately seeking a hotel in the area. We look forward to the day when we are able to direct them to convenient, quality accommodation that will entice people to stay longer and see more in the area.
The proposed hotel height limit was reduced from six stories to three, in response to some of the objections received. In Explore's humble opinion, this seems a reasonable height for a seaside hotel.
Planners have ensured unobstructed access to the waterfront with twenty pages of “Special Conditions” for the land auction's winning bidder. These include time requirements for completion of public roads around the hotel (12 months from the date of the agreement) as well as for completion of the whole project (60 months).
The hotel plan must include provisions for pedestrian passageways (‘cross-hatched' black area on the above plan) which cut through the property and reduce the solid wall effect along the seafront, and the developer must also submit a “master landscape proposal” to ensure adequate green space. Maximum site coverage is not to exceed 70% of the area of the lot and parking spaces are to be provided for both staff and guests as well as lay-bys for taxis and loading vehicles.