Planning Application in Respect of a Hotel Project on Lugard Road  (2014/06/25)

MR YIU SI-WING: The conversion of this century-old residence into a hotel will bring benefits to the tourism industry and merits the support of the Government. On the premise of striking a balance among environmental protection, road safety and the interests of various sides, the Government should vet and approve the application lawfully, reasonably and sensibly. If the TD plans to further prohibit the future hotel vehicles from using the road section from 9 am to 7 pm on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays, this is obviously posing a difficulty, which is unfair and unreasonable to patrons of the hotel. May I ask the Secretary whether the authorities will discuss with the hotel operator to seek a reasonable solution?

SECRETARY FOR TRANSPORT AND HOUSING: President, as I mentioned in my main reply, given that the applicant had not proposed any vehicular restrictive arrangement for that road section initially, the TD had misgivings about the safe use of the road and therefore raised objection to the application. Subsequently, the applicant took the initiative to propose restricted use on public holidays and Sundays, and some attached conditions are also set by the TPB in approving the planning application, which are additional conditions imposed by the TPB after taking into account various factors such as the impact on traffic, reactions of residents in the district, and so on. Therefore, it is in accordance with the requirements of the TPB that the TD has further proposed the time restrictions on the use of the road section as stated in the main reply.