The

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a List of cities in China, city and Special administrative regions of China, special ...

2030: Planning Vision and Strategy (HK2030 Study) is a study group tasked with preparing a strategic land use planning framework for Hong Kong up to year 2030. The HK2030 Study aimed to provide strategic framework for future land use in

New Territories The New Territories is one of the three main regions of Hong Kong, alongside Hong Kong Island and the Kowloon Peninsula. It makes up 86.2% of Hong Kong's territory, and contains around half of the population of Hong Kong. Historically, it ...

to address long-term housing demands in the New Development Areas (NDAs) of Kwun Tung North (KTL) and

Fanling North Fanling ( zh, t=粉嶺; also spelled Fan Ling or Fan Leng) is a town in the New Territories East of Hong Kong. Administratively, it is part of the North District. Fanling Town is the main settlement of the Fanling area. The name Fanling is ...

(FLN). In 2008 “The North East New Development Areas Planning and Engineering Study” (NENT NDAs Study) began; it continued until 2013. There were four primary objectives of this study group: * Determine strategic roles of the NDAs * Build people-oriented communities * Create sustainable living environments * Develop appropriate implementation mechanisms. Industries such as special industries, research & development, creative industry,

business Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or buying and selling products (such as goods and services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for profit." Having a business name does not separ ...

education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty ...

, and medical care were emphasized in the developmental project. /sup> The project was controversial with opponents questioning the need and intention of the project,

zoning Zoning is a method of urban planning in which a municipality or other tier of government divides land into areas called zones, each of which has a set of regulations for new development that differs from other zones. Zones may be defined for a si ...

areas, compensation, and

environmental preservation Environmentalism or environmental rights is a broad philosophy, ideology, and social movement regarding concerns for environmental protection and improvement of the health of the environment, particularly as the measure for this health seek ...

/sup>. The latest revision of NENT was passed by the Executive Council in 2013 /sup> and was passed by the Legislative Council for Budget approval in 2014. /sup>

Policy content

Kwu Tung North and

are planned to provide 60,700 new flats accommodating 174,900 people with a ratio of public to private housing of 60:40. A population of 460,000 can be housed until the planning's completion. /sup> Due to its distance from central Hong Kong, the government concentrates

residences A residence is a place (normally a building) used as a home or dwelling, where people reside. Residence may more specifically refer to: * Domicile (law), a legal term for residence * Habitual residence, a civil law term dealing with the status ...

, workplaces, and public facilities within 500 m of the public

transport Transport (in British English), or transportation (in American English), is the intentional movement of humans, animals, and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, land ( rail and road), water, cable, pipelin ...

nodes,

railway stations A train station, railway station, railroad station or depot is a railway facility where trains stop to load or unload passengers, freight or both. It generally consists of at least one platform, one track and a station building providing such ...

, and

highway A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It is used for major roads, but also includes other public roads and public tracks. In some areas of the United States, it is used as an equivalent term to controlled-access ...

s. An integrated pedestrian and cycle track network will serve to increase

traffic Traffic comprises pedestrians, vehicles, ridden or herded animals, trains, and other conveyances that use public ways (roads) for travel and transportation. Traffic laws govern and regulate traffic, while rules of the road include traffic ...

convenience. A ‘Commercial, Research and Development Cluster’ will be developed to create synergy with

Lok Ma Chau Loop The Lok Ma Chau Loop () is a small piece of riverside land transferred to Hong Kong by Mainland China on 3 January 2017. It is the proposed development site for the Hong Kong-Shenzhen Innovation and Technology Park (). Political status With ...

, and it is estimated that there will be 37,700 job opportunities created. 0/sup> The areas are designed to be environmentally friendly with the use of green building design and

electric vehicles An electric vehicle (EV) is a vehicle that uses one or more electric motors for propulsion. It can be powered by a collector system, with electricity from extravehicular sources, or it can be powered autonomously by a battery (sometimes ch ...

encouraged. 1/sup>In long-term consideration, Long Valley will be preserved as a nature park to compensate for the

wetland A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (Anoxic waters, anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in t ...

loss due to the New Development Areas (NDAs). Two pieces of land located at the north and south of the park are reserved for agricultural purposes for farmers to purchase or rent. 2/sup> A special

ex gratia (; also spelled ''ex-gratia'') is Latin for "by favour", and is most often used in a legal context. When something has been done ''ex gratia'', it has been done voluntarily, out of kindness or grace. In law, an ''ex gratia payment'' is a payme ...

compensation has been devised for affected qualified households to assist their removal. A public rental-housing site is reserved for rehousing. 3/sup>

Timeline of development

1998 - 2003

NENT Study was conducted in between 1998 and 2003 to assess its development potential for strategic growth. 4/sup>

Ping Che Ping Che () is a village in Ta Kwu Ling, North District, Hong Kong. ''Che'' (; Jyutping: ce4; literally "clear land for agriculture by burning") refers to the method of farming used by the Che people. Administration Ping Che is a recognized vi ...

Ta Kwu Ling Ta Kwu Ling is an area in the North District, New Territories, Hong Kong, located northeast of Sheung Shui, close to the border with mainland China. Ta Kwu Ling is one of three new development areas currently being planned for North Distri ...

, FLN, and KTN were identified as suitable NDAs. 5/sup> The NDA proposals were shelved when population growth slowed and housing demand fell. 6/sup>

2007-2008

NENT NDAs development was proposed in 2007-2008 Policy Address. This plan targeted the integration with the Pearl River Delta's development and the generation of employment opportunities in the Six Industries. 7/sup> In June 2008, PlanD and

CEDD Cedd ( la, Cedda, Ceddus; 620 – 26 October 664) was an Anglo-Saxon monk and bishop from the Kingdom of Northumbria. He was an evangelist of the Middle Angles and East Saxons in England and a significant participant in the Synod of Whitby, ...

worked on NENT NDAs Planning and Engineering Study which involved three-stage public engagement: 8/sup> Stage One Public Engagement ("PE1"), 9/sup> Stage Two Public Engagement ("PE2") 0/sup>and Stage Three Public Engagement ("PE3"). 1/sup> The study's findings were publicized through newspapers advertisements, posters, invitation letters and a study website. 2/sup>

November 2008 to February 2009

PE1 consisted of 16 briefing sessions and a community workshop. 3/sup>The public were engaged in focus group discussions on four topics: implementation mechanisms, people-oriented communities, strategic roles of NENT NDAs, and sustainable living environment. 4/sup> In November 2008, briefing sessions were arranged with the

Town Planning Board The Town Planning Board () is a statutory body of the Hong Kong Government tasked with developing urban plans with an aim to ensuring the "health, safety, convenience and general welfare of the community through the process of guiding and co ...

(TPB), the Development Panel of the Legislative Council, and the Planning Sub-committee of Land and Building Advisory Committee (LDAC). 5/sup> Briefings on NENT NDAs proposal were delivered at the Joint Co-operation Meeting between the Planning Department,

Shenzhen Shenzhen (; ; ; ), also historically known as Sham Chun, is a major sub-provincial city and one of the special economic zones of China. The city is located on the east bank of the Pearl River estuary on the central coast of southern provi ...

Municipal Planning Bureau, and 12th Beijing – Hong Kong Economic Co-operation Symposium. 6/sup>Briefing sessions were also arranged for the Hong Kong Institute of Planners, the Real Estate Developers Association of Hong Kong,

Heung Yee Kuk The Heung Yee Kuk, officially the Heung Yee Kuk N.T., is a statutory advisory body representing establishment interests in the New Territories, Hong Kong. The council is a powerful organisation comprising heads of rural committees which repre ...

New Territories (Heung Yee Kuk), and the Advisory Council on the Environment (ACE) in December 2008 and January 2009. 7/sup> Upon invitations, the study team attended meetings held by

North District Council The North District Council () is one of the 18 Hong Kong district councils and represents the North District. It is one of 18 such councils. Consisting of 22 members, the district council is drawn from 18 constituencies, which elect 18 members, ...

(“NDC”) and RCs in four districts including

Sheung Shui Sheung Shui (, literally "Above-water") is an area in the New Territories, Hong Kong. Sheung Shui Town, a part of this area, is part of the Fanling–Sheung Shui New Town in the North District of Hong Kong. Fanling Town is to its southeast ...

Fanling Fanling ( zh, t=粉嶺; also spelled Fan Ling or Fan Leng) is a town in the New Territories East of Hong Kong. Administratively, it is part of the North District. Fanling Town is the main settlement of the Fanling area. The name Fanling is ...

, and

Sha Tau Kok Sha Tau Kok is a closed city, closed town in Hong Kong. The last remaining major settlement in the Frontier Closed Area, it is Hong Kong's northernmost town. Geography The small rural village of Sha Tau Kok is located on the northern sh ...

. 8/sup> The study team met residents and concerned groups from the Kwu Tung area and Fanling North Area including Ling Shan, Tin Ping Shan Tsuen, Ma Shi Po, and Shek Wu San. A 3-hour community workshop for the public was organized by PlanD and

at Luen Wo Hui Community Hall in

on December 20, 2008. 9/sup> Expert Panel Members introduced four focus topics of the NDA's study before allowing group discussions of the topics. 0/sup> Approximately 200 people attended the workshop. Many of the attendees were local residents, members of NDC, RCs, and representatives from relevant organizations like PlanD, Ma Shi Po Environmental Concern Group, and Chinese

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams in London, originally ...

. 1/sup> Over 90 individual written comments were collected until March 2009. A general support for

ecological Ecology () is the study of the relationships between living organisms, including humans, and their physical environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere level. Ecology overlaps wi ...

conservation was found from the feedback. 2/sup>

Mid-November 2009 - mid-January 2010

PE2 involved 17 briefing sessions and 1 public forum for soliciting opinions on the Preliminary Outline Development Plans. 3/sup>Some exhibition panels were set up to introduce the study. 4/sup> Local committees and professional organizations met with the Green Group representatives and North District Secondary School Principals who gathered their opinions. 5/sup> There were 4 local meetings with over 300 villagers held on November 29, 2009 and January 23, 2010. 6/sup> These participants came from Kwu Tung Village, Fu Tei Au Village, Ling Shan Tsuen, Shek Wu San Tsuen, Tin Ping Shan Tsuen and Ma Shi Po. 7/sup> On December 12, 2009, a public forum was organized to obtain public opinions on proposals at

Luen Wo Hui Luen Wo Hui or Luen Wo Market is a market town east of Fanling in the New Territories of Hong Kong. It is located northeast of Fanling station. Administration For electoral purposes, Luen Wo Hui is part of the Luen Wo Hui constituency of ...

Community Hall. 8/sup> About 500 people attended the forum including local residents, relevant NDC and RC Members, and representatives from relevant parties and organizations. 9/sup> The study team received more than 250 written comments until March 2010. 0/sup>The development proposals were refined after taking into account the public comments and recommendations on technical assessments obtained from PE1 and PE2. 1/sup>

Mid-June and September 2012

PE3 was launched to gauge public opinion on the Recommended Outline Development Plans. 2/sup>Roving

exhibition An exhibition, in the most general sense, is an organized presentation and display of a selection of items. In practice, exhibitions usually occur within a cultural or educational setting such as a museum, art gallery, park, library, exhibitio ...

s were organized at North Point,

Sha Tin Sha Tin, also spelt Shatin, is a neighbourhood along Shing Mun River in the eastern New Territories, Hong Kong. Administratively, it is part of the Sha Tin District. Sha Tin is one of the neighbourhoods of the Sha Tin New Town project. The ...

and the North District Government Offices. 3/sup>Engagement activities included 35 briefing sessions, 1 public meeting, and 1 public forum. The study team remained work closely with aforementioned agencies, Housing Authority, relevant local committees, professional bodies, and other stakeholders such as green groups. 4/sup> On July 29, 2012, a public meeting which 600 people participated in was held in Kwun Tung North. 5/sup> A public forum organized on September 22, 2012 was also attended by more than 5,000 people. 6/sup> On December 9, approximately 100 local residents opposed the plan and marched to Henderson Land's headquarter 7/sup>. Over 10,000 written comments were received by the end of 2012. 8/sup>

October 2012 - 6 October 2014

After completion of the study in July 2013, NENT NDAs proposal was restated in the 2013 Policy Address. 9/sup>On May 2, 2014, a motion allocating $340.8 million for advancing

infrastructure Infrastructure is the set of facilities and systems that serve a country, city, or other area, and encompasses the services and facilities necessary for its economy, households and firms to function. Infrastructure is composed of public and priv ...

work at KTN FLN NDAs was proposed. 0/sup> Affected residents and

activists Activism (or Advocacy) consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived greater good. Forms of activism range fro ...

stormed the Legislative Council building over the plan while pan-democrats filibustered over the bill. 1/sup>On June 27, the motion was passed in Legislative Council 2/sup>when most pan-democrats did not cast their votes. 3/sup>The final report of the study was released in July 2014 4/sup> and the government launched a new website for KTN FLN NDAs on October 6, 2014. 5/sup>

Opinion

Approbation

Increase housing supply

The expansion of new towns, supported by the pro-Establishment, will provide a large number of housing to solve the growing housing problem, which severely affects the quality of life in

, slowing down economic progress and development. 6/sup> The plan will shorten the waiting time for public

rental housing A leasehold estate is an ownership of a temporary right to hold land or property in which a lessee or a tenant holds rights of real property by some form of title from a lessor or landlord. Although a tenant does hold rights to real property, a ...

, which currently stands at 4.1 years. 7/sup>

Improve the areas’ living environment

Helps to resolve the problems brought by industrial land and open

warehouses A warehouse is a building for storing goods. Warehouses are used by manufacturers, importers, exporters, wholesalers, transport businesses, customs, etc. They are usually large plain buildings in industrial parks on the outskirts of cities, town ...

to improve life quality of local residents. In addition, rehousing moves squatting inhabitants to public housing. 8/sup>

Economic development

The ‘Commercial, Research and Development Cluster’ acts as a driving economic force in the areas; it creates job opportunities to local residents. The plan facilitates the interaction between Hong Kong and Shenzhen in cultural and economic aspects which bring strategic interest to Hong Kong. 9/sup>

Create a sustainable, environmentally-friendly community

Cleans up current polluted lands and preserve Long Valley in the long run.

Criticisms

Undemocratic policy-making process

During the initial stage of consultation, the government only invited Heung Yee Kok registered organizations, and government-affiliated committees to the meetings. The local residents and the general public were not represented. 0/sup> The government later organized forums, but those only serve to present the policy proposal and there was no deliberation or negotiation between the government and attendees. 1/sup> Responding to this, fifty thousand submissions opposed to the policy were submitted to Town Planning Board (TPB) 2/sup> and many protests followed. In spite of strong opposition, the government bypassed the TPB to apply for an appropriation to Financial Committee, Legislative Council (LegCo). This incited the protesters to storm LegCo complex. 3/sup> In view of this, the government was being criticized of having pre-install options and making false public consultations.

Destroy local agriculture and natural environment

Civil society organizations (CSOs) claim that the planning will destroy one fourth of active farmlands. CSOs opposed full

urbanization Urbanization (or urbanisation) refers to the population shift from rural to urban areas, the corresponding decrease in the proportion of people living in rural areas, and the ways in which societies adapt to this change. It is predominantly th ...

of the areas since the government does not formulate a policy concerns with sustainable development of rural areas. 4/sup>

Collusion, transfer of benefits between government and the business sector

Open tender for land sales was replaced by ‘ In-situ land exchange’ Policy. Those who own 4000m² of land can apply for land exchange. This benefits the real estate developers, since they have already accumulated a lot of agricultural. Under this policy, they can change the use of land from agricultural to residential use by paying land premium instead of bidding the lands with high price. In term of this, the public criticized the planning paves the way for developers to build

luxury apartment A luxury apartment is a type of apartment that is intended to provide its occupant with higher-than-average levels of comfort, quality and convenience. While the term is often used to describe high-end regular apartments, or even typical apartmen ...

s instead of building public housing. 5/sup>

Paves the way to 'China-HK Integration’

The planning suggests the areas utilize their geographical advantages to have more interactions with Shenzhen. Then Chief Executive, C.Y. Leung has made remarks on the planning during his Chief Executive Election campaign; he suggested developing the areas into a 'special administrative region' in Hong Kong which would be visa-free to Mainland visitors. Opposition leaders in the Legislative Council have claimed that this will affect the sovereignty of Hong Kong; however, the pro-Establishment camp has expressed that the 'visa-free zone' will boost the retail and tourism industry of the Northern New Territories, bringing positive economic benefits. 6/sup>There is still some opposition to this, but the government will consider this plan for the betterment and progress of Hong Kong while upholding the rule of law outlined in the constitutional document, the Basic Law. 7/sup>

Subsequent development

The Advance Works, including site formation and infrastructure work, will commence in 2018. The first batch of resident intake is expected in 2023. 8/sup> Modification of lease like in-situ land exchange will facilitate the first population intake in 2022. Completion of all construction works in KTN and FLN NDAs is designated in 2031. 9/sup>

References

/sup> /sup> /sup> /sup> /sup>Civil Engineering and Development Department, & Planning Department. ''North East New Territories New Development Areas Planning and Engineering Study.'' Retrieved from http://www.nentnda.gov.hk/doc/pe/info_digest.pdf 0/sup> 1/sup> 2/sup> 3/sup> 4/sup> 5/sup> 6/sup> 7/sup> 8/sup>Civil Engineering and Development Department, & Planning Department. (July 2014). ''North East New Territories New Development Areas Planning and Engineering Study – Investigation Executive Summary''. 9/sup> 0/sup> 1/sup> 2/sup> 3/sup>Development Bureau (November 2009). ''Legislative Council Panel on Development: North East New Territories New Development Areas Planning and Engineering Study Stage Two Public Engagement'' (CB(1)396/09-10(09)). Hong Kong: Legislative Council Secretariat. Retrieved from http://www.legco.gov.hk/yr09-10/english/panels/dev/papers/dev1124cb1-396-9-e.pdf 4/sup> 5/sup> 6/sup> 7/sup> 8/sup> 9/sup> 0/sup> 1/sup> 2/sup> 3/sup>Development Bureau, Civil Engineering and Development Department. & Planning Department. (June 2012). ''Legislative Council Panel on Development: North East New Territories New Development Areas Planning and Engineering Study - Recommended Outline Development Plans and Stage Three Public Engagement'' (CB(1)2207/11-12(03)). 4/sup> 5/sup> 6/sup> 7/sup> 8/sup> 9/sup> 0/sup> 1/sup> 2/sup> 3/sup> 4/sup>Civil Engineering and Development Department, & Planning Department. (July 2013). ''North East New Territories New Development Areas Planning and Engineering Study - Investigation Stage 3 Public Engagement Report (Agreement No. CE 61/2007 (CE))''. Hong Kong: ARUP. Retrieved from http://www.nentnda.gov.hk/doc/pe/PER3_e.pdf 5/sup> 6/sup> 7/sup> 8/sup> 9/sup> 0/sup> 1/sup> 2/sup> 3/sup> 4/sup> 5/sup> 6/sup> 7/sup> 8/sup> 9/sup> 0/sup> 1/sup> 2/sup> 3/sup> 4/sup> 5/sup> 6/sup> 7/sup>李怡（2014年6月28日）。蘋論：新界東北關係一國兩制生死存亡。蘋果日報。2016年11月22日，取自http://hk.apple.nextmedia.com/news/art/20140628/18780034 8/sup>Development Bureau (November 2016). ''Implementation mechanism and programme.'' Retrieved from http://ktnfln-ndas.gov.hk/en/2-1-6-about_project.php 9/sup>

External links

{{Authority control New Territories Urban planning in Hong Kong Proposed infrastructure in Hong Kong New towns in Hong Kong