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Hong Kong housing
OpinionLetters

Letters | Why Hong Kong must rethink Fanling golf course housing plan: if not for its rich heritage then in memory of players who brought glory to the game

  • Hong Kong has put decades of hard work into making a name on the international golf circuit
  • Why take back such a stunningly beautiful area, when other options could and should be considered?

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Drone aerial view of the Hong Kong Golf Club greens in Fanling, Sheung Shui. Part of it is going to be taken back for public housing. Photo: Roy Issa
Letters
I was saddened to read about the government’s plans to take back part of the recreational land from the Hong Kong Golf Club in 2023 (“Plan to build homes on Hong Kong’s exclusive Fanling golf course gets government backing”, February 20). Furthermore, I am pleased that neither my late maternal grandfather, Walter Kerr, who was the club’s secretary and manager for nearly 20 years until 1968, and my late father Bill Leighton, who was captain of the club in 1973, are here to read about these developments. They would have been very upset.
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Both my grandfather and my father worked tirelessly for several decades to promote the club’s interests. My grandfather and the late Kim Hall, golf professional at Fanling in the 1950s, were responsible for bringing the Golf Open to Hong Kong. Fanling has been the home of the Hong Kong Golf Open for over 60 years. My father represented Hong Kong as part of its golf teams in major competitions in the Asean region over 30 years. Both my grandfather and father did everything they could to promote goodwill with local villages and to provide employment at the club.

The club celebrates its 130th anniversary this year and can proudly say that the courses at Fanling are recognised as among the very best in the world. The courses are set in an area of outstanding natural beauty, attracting an amazing variety of wildlife. Over many years, local villagers who are interested in the sport, have (subject to identity verification) been able to use parts of the old course at certain times of the day, free of charge. The club has been keen to support young golfers.

Moreover, the club has always permitted villagers to inspect and clean family graves located on the courses. When I was a boy, my grandfather showed me the important and ancient graves, some dating back over 400 years. These ancient grave sites should be preserved as part of Hong Kong’s wonderful heritage. Under no circumstances should they, in my view, be removed and relocated.

Given the above, I am naturally very sad to learn about the government’s proposals, although I appreciate the fact that it needs to take a long-term strategic view with regard to public housing over the next 30 years. But why take back such a stunningly beautiful area, when other options like land reclamation at Lantau and elsewhere could and should be considered? There are many military sites, practically totally unused in various parts of Hong Kong, including Gun Club Barracks by Gascoigne Road and the Shek Kong Barracks, which surely could accommodate something like 10,000 flats.
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