Three Outline Zoning Plans Approved for San Tin Technopole, Mai Po, and Ngau Tam Mei Development.

Three draft outline zoning plans for San Tin Technopole and Sam Po Shue Wetland Conservation Park approved

The Chief Executive in Council has approved the draft San Tin Technopole Outline Zoning Plan (OZP), the draft Mai Po and Fairview Park OZP and the draft Ngau Tam Mei OZP.

"The three approved OZPs provide statutory planning frameworks for the development of the San Tin Technopole (except the Loop) and the Sam Po Shue Wetland Conservation Park (SPS WCP)", a spokesman for the Town Planning Board (TPB) said today (September 20).

The planning scheme area of the approved San Tin Technopole OZP, covering the San Tin/Lok Ma Chau (STLMC) area (about 1 004 hectares), is bounded by the Shenzhen River and the SPS WCP to the north, the Hong Kong-Shenzhen Innovation and Technology Park of the San Tin Technopole at the Loop to the north-east, Kwu Tung North New Development Area and Hadden Hill (Ki Lun Shan) to the east, Ngau Tam Mei area, San Tin Barracks and Tam Mei Barracks to the south, and Mai Po area to the west.

The planning of the STLMC area is not only to provide an innovation and technology (I&T) park but also a self-contained and vibrant town centre for a quality new town with green commuting, blue-green and "sponge city" features and a better home-job balance. About 313.24 hectares are zoned "Other Specified Uses" ("OU"), of which about 210 hectares are designated for I&T uses to create a critical mass in the area to foster I&T advancement, meet the increasing demand of land for I&T development and deepen the I&T collaboration with the Mainland and the world. The other "OU" zones are designated for specific uses, namely "Mixed Use", "Cultural and Community Uses with Supporting Uses and Facilities", "Logistics, Storage and Workshop", etc. Other areas are zoned "Residential (Group A)" (about 44.78 hectares), "Village Type Development" (about 78.48 hectares), "Government, Institution or Community" (about 56.52 hectares), "Open Space" (about 55.88 hectares), "Green Belt" ("GB") (about 207.29 hectares) and "Conservation Area" ("CA") (about 139.36 hectares).

The Explanatory Statement of the San Tin Technopole OZP has been revised to incorporate the requirements of a Planning and Design Brief for the future developments, which would be submitted to TPB for approval after consultation with relevant stakeholders.

The approved Mai Po and Fairview Park OZP has incorporated amendments shown on the draft Mai Po and Fairview Park OZP No. S/YL-MP/7, which mainly involve (i) incorporating an area from the north-western part of the former San Tin OZP, with the major part rezoned from "CA" and "OU" annotated "Comprehensive Development and Wetland Enhancement Area" to "OU" annotated "Wetland Conservation Park" ("OU(WCP)") and the remaining part retained as "CA", and (ii) rezoning an area around Tam Kon Chau, Pak Hok Chau and Yau Mei San Tsuen from "CA", "Recreation" and "OU" annotated "Comprehensive Development to include Wetland Restoration Area" to "OU(WCP)". The "OU(WCP)" zone, which covers a total area of about 348.63 hectares, is intended primarily for the development of the SPS WCP by the Government to ensure no-net-loss of the ecological function of the wetlands.

The approved Ngau Tam Mei OZP has incorporated amendments shown on the draft Ngau Tam Mei OZP No. S/YL-NTM/13, which mainly involve (i) excising land for incorporation into the San Tin Technopole OZP to reflect the boundary of the STLMC area, (ii) rezoning a site abutting San Tam Road from "Residential (Group C)" to "Government, Institution or Community (1)" for development of a proposed social welfare facility, and (iii) rezoning a site to the north of the Tam Mei Barracks from "Comprehensive Development Area" to "GB" to reflect the existing site conditions.

The Notes and Explanatory Statements of the Mai Po and Fairview Park OZP and Ngau Tam Mei OZP are amended to take into account the above amendments. The opportunity is also taken to update the general information of various land use zones and the planning scheme areas, where appropriate.

The approved San Tin Technopole OZP No. S/STT/2, the approved Mai Po and Fairview Park OZP No. S/YL-MP/8 and the approved Ngau Tam Mei OZP No. S/YL-NTM/14, are available for public inspection during office hours at (i) the Secretariat of the Board, (ii) the Planning Enquiry Counters, (iii) the Fanling, Sheung Shui and Yuen Long East District Planning Office, (iv) the Yuen Long District Office and (v) the San Tin Rural Committee.

Copies of the three approved OZPs are available for sale at the Map Publications Centres in North Point and Yau Ma Tei. The electronic version of the three approved OZPs can be viewed on the Board's website (www.tpb.gov.hk).

EPD completes investigation on T·PARK's stack gas monitoring incident

Concerning the incident regarding the suspected short-term non-compliance of the total organic carbon (TOC) from certain T·PARK's flue stacks during the period from last October to this July, as compared with the emission standards set out in the contract, the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) today (December 30) announced the investigation findings.

The investigation revealed that, at the same time when the monitoring data of TOC collected from the operating flue stack exceeded the emission limits set out in the contract, TOC was also detected from the air inside the other non-operating flue stacks in the facility. Since the monitoring of organic carbon requires utilization of air from the surrounding environment in order to assist combustion, scientifically the monitoring data need to be corrected according to the organic carbon concentration in the ambient air before they can be compared with the standards. With the above correction, it is confirmed that the actual data of TOC from the operation of T·PARK had not exceeded the emission limit under the contract.

TOC generally refers to the total amount of carbon in all organic compounds. Vegetation, vehicles, paints, cooking and industrial activities, etc are common sources of TOC in the ambient air. TOC is not a parameter under the statutory Air Quality Objectives, in order to ensuring proper operation of the facility, the contract between the EPD and the contractor of T·PARK has set emission standards for TOC, and conduct continuous monitoring. During the period from last October to this July, there were a few occasions of suspected short-term non-compliance of TOC emission standards under the contract from certain T·PARK's flue stacks. As the contractor had different views on whether the emission of TOC from the facility had violated the contract provisions, the EPD had to conduct investigation into the incident.

As the relevant investigation has been completed, the EPD has reuploaded the environmental monitoring reports for the period from last October to this October to the website www.epd.gov.hk/epd/english/environmentinhk/waste/data/data_stf.html