AFCD同鄉議局密密斟 leisure farming+guest house to revive enclaves //Wong said he accepted the concerns about land ownership. He hoped the kuk could set up a non-profit body to collect farmland and lease it to farmers on a long-term basis.// | By Olga Wong and Ernest Kao | 2015-01-21 標示關鍵字 標示關鍵詞並按此開始搜索 Green idea to revive enclaves Farming for fun and new guest houses could offer a green solution for controversial sites that lie within country parks but are not part of them Country park enclaves could become home to leisure farming and guest-house developments, with pilot schemes to be carried out in two areas soon, the head of the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department said. The idea emerged after talks between department director Alan Wong Chi-kong and rural representative body the Heung Yee Kuk on the city’s new agricultural policy yesterday. The policy includes promoting leisure farming – which typically involves small-scale farms that produce little but give people a chance to experience farming life. The idea could help solve the dilemma of the enclaves – scores of village sites within park boundaries that are not part of the parks. Development has been frozen while the government considers zoning plans for the enclaves. The matter sparked conflict between conservationists, who want the areas protected, and landowners, who fear losing development rights. The idea received cautious backing from villagers, green campaigners and town planners. Wong said leisure farming was a green way to develop the enclaves’ economic value. The first experiments would be at the controversial Tai Long Sai Wan enclave in Sai Kung and at Lai Chi Wo, in Plover Country Park. “The projects can be run by non-profit organisations in partnership with villagers,” Wong said. “The guest houses will be of simple design … to allow visitors to stay overnight.” The Sai Wan enclave was incorporated into Sai Kung East Country Park in 2013 despite protests from villagers and the kuk. A stargazing station and new dining facilities are expected to open there later this year. Dr Ng Cho-nam, a former Town Planning Board member, welcomed the idea but said the government must seek villagers’ endorsement for any such development. The licensing regime for guest houses was also too stringent to make small operations viable, he added. Lai Yan, a Sai Wan villager, said people there had long wanted to convert houses into licensed guest houses, though “more talks were needed”. But he rejected the idea of cooperating with non-profit groups. He said previous guest houses in Sai Wan had closed after the government ramped up licensing checks. Paul Zimmerman, an urban planning campaigner and co-convenor of the Save Our Country Parks Alliance, said the idea was good, though sewage was a problem. The enclaves were not connected to the mains so waste would have to be treated in septic tanks, raising the risk of leaks. “This is a great opportunity to provide more amenities in country parks,” Zimmerman said. Published last month and now subject to a three-month consultation, the agriculture policy is intended to revive the industry by harnessing technology and attracting young workers. But kuk members dismissed much of the plan, casting doubt on how the government could acquire land for a 70-hectare agricultural park meant to spearhead modernisation. They said much of the city’s abandoned farmland was in the hands of developers and suggested farmers looking to revive agricultural land get the right to put buildings on the land in which to live and store equipment. Wong said he accepted the concerns about land ownership. He hoped the kuk could set up a non-profit body to collect farmland and lease it to farmers on a long-term basis.
Posted on: Wed, 21 Jan 2015 03:02:17 +0000
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