With the implementation of the Town Planning (Amendment) Ordinance 2004 on June 10, there will be a more transparent planning system and more opportunities for public participation in the town planning process, Director of Planning Bosco Fung says.

The ordinance, passed by the Legislative Council last July, aims to enhance the transparency of the planning system, streamline the town planning process, and strengthen planning enforcement control over unauthorised developments in the rural New Territories.

To facilitate implementation, the Town Planning Board has promulgated eight sets of guidelines on the new procedures and requirements. Mr Fung said the guidelines will help the public and practitioners to better understand the new planning system, and their rights and responsibilities under it. He hoped the community will endorse the department's work and actively partake in the town planning process.

New procedures

The guidelines cover measures the board will adopt to publish planning applications for public comment, and the important points to note when making representations on draft plans and comments on representations by the public.

To streamline the planning approval process, the amended law empowers the board to promulgate those specified minor amendments to approved development proposals that are exempted from further application (i.e. the "Class A" amendments) and those minor amendments that would be processed under streamlined procedures (i.e. the "Class B" amendments).

Applications for "Class B" amendments will be exempted from the requirements of notifying the owners or obtaining their consent as well as publication for public comments.

Major stakeholders have been consulted on the guidelines from September to December last year. Fourteen briefings to various stakeholders and one public consultation forum were held and 26 written submissions were received. 

The LegCo Panel on Planning, Lands & Works was briefed on the outcome of the consultation and the guidelines in March and April this year. The guidelines have been amended to take into account the views of the public and LegCo.

Open meetings

After commencement of the amended law, the board's meetings will be open, except for the deliberation parts and confidential items as stated in the law. Members of the public can observe the proceedings in a public viewing room located on 15/F of the North Point Government Offices.

But Mr Fung said as the law requires planning applications received before commencement date to be processed under the pre-amended provisions, the board will not open up its meeting for considering these cases.

An open meeting will not be arranged on June 10 as it only covers planning applications received and proposed amendments to draft plans gazetted before commencement of the amended law. The board will, for the first time, open the parts of a meeting for discussing general planning matters on June 17.

To enhance its transparency, the board has agreed to make available discussion papers (other than the confidential items) for public inspection before its meetings, and release the minutes of meetings.

A new Planning Enquiry Counter in the Sha Tin Government Offices, in addition to the existing one in the North Point Government Offices, has been set up to facilitate the public to inspect all planning documents that will be released.

Protect rural environment

The amended law will also strengthen the enforcement control to protect the rural environment, under which the only means for recipients of enforcement notices to comply with the notices is to discontinue the unauthorised development, Mr Fund said. They can no longer delay the prosecution action by claiming that they have submitted a planning application.

Mr Fung said the main objective of the legislative amendment is to encourage operators to run their business at authorised sites or to obtain planning permission prior to running their business, adding the administration will continue to identify more suitable sites for open storage, car-parking uses, etc. to facilitate the development of the logistics industries.