LCQ18: Land uses
16.6.2021

Following is a question by the Hon Tony Tse and a written reply by the Secretary for Development, Mr Michael Wong, in the Legislative Council today (June 16): Question: Regarding land uses, will the Government inform this Council: (1) among the lands in Hong Kong at present, of the respective areas of the lands which (i) have been and (ii) have not been included in an Outline Zoning Plan (OZP); (2) of a breakdown, by the following uses, of the areas of the lands included in OZPs, and their respective percentages in the total area: (i) Green Belt, (ii) Open Space, (iii) Conservation Area, (iv) Village Type Development, (v) Recreation, (vi) Railways and Roads, (vii) Agriculture, (viii) Grave or Crematorium, (ix) Industrial and Warehouse and (x) Country Park; (3) whether it has regularly reviewed the uses of the lands in various OZPs, so as to ensure that the relevant planning can meet the development needs of society; and (4) whether it has plans to include more lands in OZPs; if so, of the timetable; if not, the reasons for that? Reply: (1) At present, Hong Kong has a total land area of about 111 000 hectares, of which about 61 000 ha and 500 ha are respectively covered by Outline Zoning Plans (OZPs) and Development Permission Area Plans (DPAPs). Lands not covered by OZPs and DPAPs mostly fall within country park areas and are regulated under the Country Parks Ordinance (Cap. 208). (2) A breakdown, by the zoning/categories specified in the question, of the areas of the lands included in OZPs or DPAPs and their respective percentages in the total area of all lands included in OZPs or DPAPs is set out below. Certain categories of zoning may be further classified as shown in Notes (1), (2) and (3). Zoning/Category Area (ha) (approx.) Percentage in the total area (%) (approx.) Green Belt 16 381 26.6 Open Space 2 296 3.7 Conservation Area 5 770 9.4 Village Type Development 3 377 5.5 Recreation 571 0.9 Railway and Road (Note 1) 4 197 6.8 Agriculture 3 175 5.2 Cemetery or Crematorium (Note 2) 271 0.4 Industrial and Warehouse (Note 3) 1 552 2.5 Country Park (Note 4) 3 669 6.0 (3) and (4) With a view to achieving optimal land use, the Planning Department has been identifying sites with potential for housing development or other uses for rezoning or formulating new OZPs on the basis of the overall development needs of society (especially the continued housing demand) and the local features. In parallel, in order to protect the rural areas from uncontrolled developments, consideration will be given, where necessary, to formulating DPAPs for lands which have not yet been covered by statutory plans to prevent unauthorised developments and inappropriate changes of land uses. As a matter of fact, the Government has been actively pursuing a multi-pronged land supply strategy in the recent years, including taking forward the rezoning of the some 210 sites with housing development potential, identifying brownfield clusters with potential for public housing development, taking forward the development of New Development Areas and redeveloping urban squatter areas into high-density public housing, etc. All these involve the review and change of land uses, and are a manifestation of our continued efforts in land use review. Note 1: Including "Other Specified Uses" (OU) annotated "Railway", "OU" annotated "Railway Reserve", "OU" annotated "Mass Transit Railway Station Concourse", "OU" annotated "Mass Transit Railway Depot", "OU" annotated "Airport Railway Ventilation and Traction Substation Building", "OU" annotated "Kowloon Canton Railway", "OU" annotated "Railway Station", "OU" annotated "Railway Station Development", "OU" annotated "Railway Ventilation Building" Zones and areas shown as "Road". Note 2: Including "OU" annotated "Cemetery", "OU" annotated "Columbarium", "OU" annotated "Cemetery, Columbarium, Crematorium and Funeral Related Uses", "OU" annotated "Columbarium and Garden of Remembrance", "OU" annotated "Crematorium, Columbarium, Mortuary and Funeral Parlour" and "OU" annotated "Funeral Parlour and Cemetery Related Uses" Zones, but excluding "OU" annotated "Funeral Parlour" and "OU" annotated "Public Mortuary, Funeral Depot and Funeral Parlour" Zones. Note 3: Including "Industrial", "Industrial (Group D)", "Open Storage", "OU" annotated "Business", "OU" annotated "Industrial Estate", "OU" annotated "Special Industries Area", "OU" annotated "Logistics Facilities", "OU" annotated "Storage and Workshop Uses", "OU" annotated "Port Back-up, Storage and Workshop Uses", "OU" annotated "Boatyards and Marine-oriented Industrial Uses" and "OU" annotated "Deep Waterfront Industry" Zones. Note 4: Excluding country park areas not covered by OZPs and DPAPs (around 41 000 ha).