Summary of Final Working Paper No. 4

Planning DepartmentLand Use Planning for the Closed Area – Feasibility StudyWorking Paper No. 4 – Executive Summary1. IntroductionThe Working Paper No. 4 conveys broad technical assessments on the Recommended Concept Plansdeveloped in Working Paper No.3. It also provides a technical support for the formulation of the DraftDevelopment Plan under this Study.2. Broad Technical Assessment2.1 Transport and Traffic AssessmentThe transport and traffic assessment is carried out at strategic and local levels. On strategic level, San TinHighway and Fanling Highway, as well as the regional distributors (Sha Tau Kok Road, Man Kam To Road,Lok Ma Chau Road) will be operating within practical capacity by year 2031. Moreover, the Closed Areadevelopment traffic will not impose significant impact on the link capacity.On local level, the key junctions within the Study Area will be operating with ample capacity to cater forincrease in traffic flow. For local rural road, improvement schemes have been proposed to the existingroads to cater for the development traffic. For example, improvements will be made to the existing ManKam To Road and Lin Ma Hang Road. Improvement for some village roads is also proposed to enhancethe road safety.For assessment of public transport provision, it is anticipated not necessary to provide new PTI for variousdevelopments including Eco-lodge at Ma Tso Lung and Kong Nga Po Comprehensive Development Area.However, shuttle service connecting to nearby MTR stations should be provided. On the other hand, asmall-scale public transport terminus is proposed at Lin Ma Hang Road near Wang Lek to support thevisitor demand of the potential Country Park, tourist and recreational activities along Lin Ma Hang Road.Since the Study Area covers the existing boundary control points (BCP) at Lok Ma Chau Spur Line, ManKam To, Lo Wu and Sha Tau Kok, traffic restriction plan at each BCP is proposed to facilitate the crossboundary traffic management. The traffic restriction plan involves provision of various traffic improvementmeasures like “Closed Road” signage and U-turn facilities.2.2 Drainage and Sewerage AssessmentA broad technical assessment has been carried out to assess the drainage impact due to the proposeddevelopments on the existing and proposed drainage systems. It is anticipated that the proposeddevelopments will not cause any adverse impact on the existing drainage system. With the proposeddevelopments, the surface run-off will be increased. It is proposed to construct an underground storm tankor detention pond to mitigate the impact before discharging the surface run-off to the nearby streamcourse. However, the appropriate mitigation measure will be subject to the recommendation of the projectproponents.Regarding sewerage, there is limited sewerage infrastructure within the Study Area due to restrictedaccess. However, EPD/DSD has proposed several sewerage improvement works within the existingvillages. Apart from the above, the Study also proposed a number of options in the form of local packagetreatment plants, conveying the sewage flows to Shek Wu Hui and Sha Tau Kok Treatment Plants for thecollection, treatment and disposal of sewage generated from the proposed developments.Page 1Ove Arup & Partners Hong Kong LtdOctober 2009

Planning DepartmentLand Use Planning for the Closed Area – Feasibility StudyWorking Paper No. 4 – Executive Summary2.3 Water and Utility Impact AssessmentThe proposed developments in the form of village expansion and the new developments will generateadditional water demand. A broad water impact assessment has been carried out to identify thewatermains affected and the need for upgrading of existing watermains and new watermains. In summary,upgrading of some of the existing watermains is necessary within the Study Area to cater for the increasein population.Power cables, telecommunication cables and gas mains shall be provided to the new developmentproposals such as eco-lodge at Ma Tso Lung and Kong Nga Po Comprehensive Development Area. Asthe existing utility network within the Study Area is limited, extensions from the network to serve the newdevelopments are required when the developments are in place.2.4 Geotechnical AssessmentA desk study review and preliminary site inspection has been carried out to identify the existing groundconditions and geotechnical constraints for the proposed developments/ construction works within theStudy Area. In general, the threat of natural terrain landslides to the proposed development sites arerelatively minor and no detailed natural terrain hazard study is considered necessary.2.5 Visual Impact AssessmentA broad Visual Impact Assessment was conducted to assess the magnitude of visual impacts caused bythe key developments on existing views, visual amenity, character and quality of the visually sensitivereceivers within the context of the Site and its environs.The assessment has concluded that the development proposals will have a very limited impact on thevisual amenity of the Study Area. All land use and development proposals are low intensity to minimizeintrusion into the natural environment and in most cases will be landscaped. Anticipated visual impact willbe mitigated through careful site layout and design, architectural detailing and landscaping on the site andat the peripheries of developments. Overall, given the proposed intensities, there will be an insignificantimpact on the rural character and only a slight to medium impact on the visual amenity will be anticipatedwhich can be largely mitigated through sensitive design and landscape proposals.2.6 Landscape Impact AssessmentAccording to the landscape impact assessment undertaken in this Study, the whole land use planning forthe Closed Area provides minimum landscape impacts for the Study Area. There are some areas withhigher sensitivity which would be proposed to be preserved. It is effective to avoid the potential impacts onareas with different degree of sensitivity.2.7 Air Ventilation AssessmentA preliminary assessment on site characteristic and wind availability is conducted and the expertevaluation indicates that there is no major wind problem created as the areas are mainly planned for lowriseand low density development. Wind corridors are available for most of the sites.Page 2Ove Arup & Partners Hong Kong LtdOctober 2009

Planning DepartmentLand Use Planning for the Closed Area – Feasibility StudyWorking Paper No. 4 – Executive Summary2.8 Socio-Economic AssessmentA broad socio-economic assessment has been undertaken to assess potential socio-economic impactsresulting from the release of land from the Closed Area.Existing residents will benefit from improved accessibility as a result of the opening of the Closed Area.However, there will also be impacts resulting from increased general access, tourism and/or relatedactivities. In general, locals can take advantages of the following opportunities to enhance social andeconomic development:• Increasing estimated population to over 30,000 and providing more than 4,000 job opportunities;• Introducing tourism, recreation, leisure facilities and other proposals to boost the local economyand help to revitalise the local community;• Providing sufficient land for indigenous inhabitants to build small houses;• Strengthening the cooperation and linkages between Hong Kong and Shenzhen;• Improving transport and infrastructure facilities to support local development and enhance theliving standard and social development; and• Enhancing the public's recognition of cultural heritage resources by the efficient use of resources.2.9 Sustainability AssessmentAccording to the preliminary sustainability assessment (CASET), the proposed developments at ClosedArea help improve mobility and bring positive impacts to the economy. However, it would also causechanges to the existing rural landscape character. Generally speaking, the proposed developments in theClosed Area are considered sustainable.Page 3Ove Arup & Partners Hong Kong LtdOctober 2009