No eviction for Wang Chau villagers before Lunar New Year, but further compensation unlikely, officials say
Housing Department is tabling proposal to Legco for controversial project, but lawmakers want better scheme to help those affected
Residents of squatter villages affected by a controversial housing project in Wang Chau will not be evicted before the Lunar New Year, but occupants of about 80 homes ineligible for compensation could be left without shelter once plans are completed.
The reprieve was announced by Ada Fung Yin-suen, deputy director of the Housing Department, during a hearing at the Legislative Council’s panel on housing on Monday afternoon.
Lawmakers were asked to endorse the government’s plan to table the HK$2.4 billion preliminary construction cost to Legco’s Finance Committee.
Barricades erected at Wang Chau over land development plan
The funding will be used to level hillside land in Wang Chau, Yuen Long, and to build retaining walls and slopes as well as other public facilities such as an underpass and a footbridge.
The infrastructure is needed to prepare for the construction of 4,000 flats in the first phase of a controversial public housing project on a 5.6-hectare green belt site.
Brownfield sites generally refer to deserted agricultural or rural land used for activities such as open storage. The area in question could have yielded 13,000 more flats.
The decision not to use the brownfield site came after informal discussions with rural strongmen.
