The Town Planning (Amendment) Bill 2003 was gazetted today and will be tabled at the Legislative Council on May 21.

The Bill aims to streamline and expedite the town planning process, enhance the transparency of the planning system, and strengthen enforcement control against unauthorised developments in rural areas.

The Housing, Planning & Lands Bureau will speed up the process for making statutory plans by standardising the exhibition period of new and amendment plans to one month for the public to submit representations.

It will also shorten the period for considering representations from the current nine months to six months.

To ensure sufficient time for the public to respond to the proposals in the plan, the bureau will allow another four weeks upon expiry of the plan exhibition period for the representers to submit further information in support of their representations.

The Bill also includes proposals to exempt certain minor amendments to planning permission from further application, and to further delegate the Town Planning Board's powers and functions to its committees and public officers.

To enhance the planning system's transparency, an applicant for amendment of plan or for planning permission will be required to obtain consent of the land owner.

The Town Planning Board will be required to publish all applications for public comments by posting site notices or publishing notices in newspapers.