We see that the developers of the proposed controversial 'boutique hotel' on Lugard Road on the Peak have submitted yet another amendment to the Town Planning Board. This means there will be yet another public consultation - the fourth - on the application.
Objectors will have to resubmit their objections by April 8, which comes just after the Easter holiday, and the Town Planning Board hearing is scheduled for April 17.
The developers appear to have taken a leaf out of Hopewell Holdings' playbook by continually going back to the board with amendments in what seems to be an attempt to exhaust the public, and in what is clearly an abuse of the process. But as we have said before, the whole planning process is geared towards helping the developers at the expense of the public interest which the board is supposed to upholding.
The so-called refinements of the latest proposals include a reduction in the number of hotel suites from no more than 17 to 12, and "tighter" restrictions on traffic to the hotel on weekends and public holidays. The developers say they are also exploring alternative means of transport such as electric e-tuks.
The developers also claim they have come up with a "new environmentally friendly sewerage system". This bears closer examination since the original scheme would have involved some 20,000 litres of effluent a day to seep into the surrounding country park area.
Lugard Road is one of the more picturesque and tranquil areas in Hong Kong and is popular with visitors and hikers. Unsurprisingly, the hotel plan has attracted considerable public opposition but was approved by the board in September 2013 - a decision that also raised public ire.
