Mayfair Gardens () is the first

private housing estate A housing estate (or sometimes housing complex or housing development) is a group of homes and other buildings built together as a single development. The exact form may vary from country to country. Popular throughout the United States ...

Tsing Yi Tsing Yi, sometimes referred to as Tsing Yi Island, is an island in the urban area of Hong Kong, to the northwest of Hong Kong Island and south of Tsuen Wan. With an area of , the island has extended drastically by reclamation along almost al ...

, Hong Kong. It was built by

Sun Hung Kai Properties Sun Hung Kai Properties Limited (SHKP; ) is a listed corporation and the largest property developer in Hong Kong as of 2019. The company is controlled by the Kwok family trust, largely the Kwok brothers. The Kwok family trust was set up by Kw ...

and established between 1982 and 1984. The estate is composed of eight residential buildings, namely Blocks 5 to 12.

Estate information

* Number of blocks: 8 * The phase that each block belongs to: ** Phase I: Block 6, Block 8, Block 10, Block 11, Block 12 ** Phase II: Block 5, Block 7, Block 9 * Occupation Date: ** Phase I: 1982 ** Phase II: 1984 * The total number of flat:1,912 The original plan of the estate includes block 1-4, however the location of those blocks is too close to the oil depot, so block 1-4 are not built. The original location for block 1-4 becomes the location of the park now, and the original location of the oil depot becomes the location of

Rambler Crest Rambler Crest () is a housing development on Tsing Yi Island, Hong Kong, which includes a private housing estate, shopping mall and 3 hotels, namely Rambler Garden Hotel (), Rambler Oasis Hotel () and Winland 800 Hotel (). It was developed by ...

today.

Location

The estate was built on the site of

Sai Shan Village Sai Shan Village is a village on Tsing Yi Island, Hong Kong. The village was beneath the valley of Sai Shan and Tsing Yi Peak near Mayfair Gardens and the Hong Kong Institute of Vocational Education (Tsing Yi). A stream runs from the valley was ...

. To the east of the estate is

Cheung Ching Estate The following is an overview of public housing estates on Tsing Yi, Hong Kong including Home Ownership Scheme (HOS), Private Sector Participation Scheme (PSPS), Flat-for-Sale Scheme (FFSS), Tenant Purchase Scheme (TPS) and Subsidised Sale F ...

and to the west IVE (Tsing Yi). The estate is surrounded by

Sai Shan Sai Shan () is a hill behind Mayfair Gardens on Tsing Yi Island, Hong Kong. The hill is east of and beneath the northern peak of Tsing Yi Peak. A village, Sai Shan Village Sai Shan Village is a village on Tsing Yi Island, Hong Kong. The villag ...

and

Tsing Yi Peak Tsing Yi Peak (; formerly spelled Tsing I Peak), also known as Sam Chi Heung (; ), is a hill with three peaks occupying the southern half of the Tsing Yi Island, Hong Kong. The hill is situated on the western half of Victoria Harbour. Its peaks ...

to the north and west.

Facilities

Mayfair Garden has facilities including: private clubs, swimming pool, park, car park, playground, basketball court, tennis court, etc. There is also a small shopping mall. The total area of the shopping mall is 69,490 square feet. The shops including 7-Eleven, Fairwood, 759 Store,

Wellcome Wellcome () is a supermarket chain owned by British conglomerate Jardine Matheson Holdings via its DFI Retail Group subsidiary. The Wellcome supermarket chain is one of the two largest supermarket chains in Hong Kong, the other being Park ...

and restaurants providing different nations' cuisine.

Withdrawal of development of Block 1, 2 and 3

Twelve blocks were originally proposed for the site. During the 1980s, there was a growing concern about the environmental safety of Tsing Yi Island. The proximity of Mobil oil depot to Mayfair Gardens triggered the protest of the islanders. The residents demanded a relocation of the depot to a more distant area. The depot remained unmoved, but the planned development of Blocks 1, 2 and 3, together with a bus terminus and a cinema, were forced to be withdrawn. Although the results of the protests were not what the campaigners desired at the time, this was one of the main examples of a civil protest movement in Hong Kong in the mid-1980s. Actions against the government were organised by residents and social workers. The movement encouraged greater participation in newly devised

District Board The district councils, formerly district boards until 1999, are the local councils for the 18 districts of Hong Kong. History Before establishment An early basis for the delivery of local services were the Kaifong associations, set up i ...

and resulted in more public involvement in policy formulation. The area originally intended for Blocks 1-3 is now a basketball court, a tennis court and a playground, so the estate is open to

Victoria Harbour Victoria Harbour is a natural landform harbour in Hong Kong separating Hong Kong Island in the south from the Kowloon Peninsula to the north. The harbour's deep, sheltered waters and strategic location on South China Sea were instrumental in ...

despite the existence of the newly built Container Terminal 9 and

which partially blocks the sea view. The oil depot has since been relocated to the west shore of the island, separated from the residential population by the geographic barrier of

Access

Following the partial withdrawal of the development, Sai Shan Road is the only road access to the housing estate. Its bus terminus is installed at the road. Most residents on the other hand use the footbridge entrance at Ching Hong Road.

Anecdote

There was an incident that a 12-year-old girl committed suicide because of the academic problem in 2008, therefore some people think that the estate is haunted.

References

{{Coord, 22.34422, 114.10695, format=dms, display=title Residential buildings completed in 1982 Residential buildings completed in 1984 Sun Hung Kai Properties Tsing Yi Private housing estates in Hong Kong 1982 establishments in Hong Kong