SAI KUNG

SAI KUNG
TERRITORY DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT
SAI KUNG DISTRICT
A Picturesque Playground for Hong Kong People
With its long and .varied coastline, largely rural character
and outstanding scenery, Sai Kung District is one of Hong Kong's most
attractive areas.
It is an important recreation area for people
living in the more crowded parts of Hong Kong Island and Kowloon and
is rivalled in popularity only by Lantau and the Plover Cove/Pat Sin
Range area.
With continued growth in the Territory's population expected
during the 1990fs and beyond, opportunities for rural recreation will
become increasingly limited. There is therefore a real need to both
protect, and enhance the District's recreation potential.
In recognition of this need, steps are being taken to ensure
that the future of the District is safeguarded by identifying those
coastal and inland areas which are best able to accommodate the
increasing pressures for recreation while at the same time protecting
important natural landscape features from over-use and development.
Therefore although additional residential development will
not be discouraged, any new housing will have to be carefully sited in
specially selected areas which are environmentally and physically
suitable.
Housing and Population
Plans for the District aim to provide improved housing for
local people and help satisfy demands for high-cost, low density
residential development in scenic areas. Sufficient land has been
earmarked for new housing which, if fully developed, could increase
the District's population from its present 36 100 people to around
75 000.
To
proposed new
four specific
Valley, Tseng
protect important recreation and conservation areas,
housing development will generally be concentrated in
locations. These are Sai Kung Town, Lower Ho Chung
Ian Shue and Tai Po Tsai/Silverstrand.
Sai Rung Town
Sai Kung Town has grown rapidly over the past 15-years from
about
3 300 people in 1971 to an estimated 9 700 in 1986. It is
currently the largest settlement in the District and is an important
service and employment centre, the town's economy being based on its
shops, market, transport services, light.industries, agriculture and
fishing*
Plans have been prepared for the physical extension of Sai
Kung Town which will reinforce its function as a social, economic and
recreation centre offering facilities for visitors to the District as
well as local residents.
Major development projects include a
recreation complex with sports facilities and a swimming pool, a
landscaped waterfront promenade and the creation of a new beach.
Sites will also be reserved for additional community facilities, and
for a modest expansion of manufacturing and service activities*
The development of further rural public housing and
medium-low density housing sites will allow Sai Kung to accommodate
some 30 000 people by the mid-1990-'s.
Rural Development
Outside Sai Kung Town, areas of Tseng Lan Shue, Lower Ho
Chung Valley and Silverstrand/Tai Po Tsai will also become local
centres, containing a range of facilities sufficient to meet the
day-to-day needs of the surrounding rural inhabitants.
A major residential scheme - Ho Chung residential marina is under construction at Lower Ho Chung Valley.
The project,
occupying an area of about 25 ha, comprises an area of former fish
ponds in front of the Pak Wai village at the mouth of the Ho Chung
River* The marina will provide about 550 low density housing units
and 500 berths for mooring together with a commercial complex and a
yacht club.
The commercial complex will include a supermarket,
restaurant and workshops for boat repairing.
A number of Village Development Areas have been selected as
suitable for village infill development to meet local housing needs*
In these areas the housing rights of villagers will be given due
emphasis and village expansion will be accompanied by the provision of
additional community facilities.
Industry and Employment
The resident working population in the District has
increased substantially from 8 500 in 1976 to an estimated 17 330 in
1986*
Manufacturing industries represent the District's largest
employers. They have experienced considerable growth over the past
few years as evidenced by the increase in the number of people
employed-from 3670 in 1976 to 4900 in 1986.
Sai Kung Town and Ho Chung are the main employment centres
in the District, providing jobs primarily in
manufacturing
industries.
Sai Kung Town is characterized by numerous small
enterprises engaged in clothing manufacture and light engineering,
including the manufacture and repair of machinery and equipment,
engine servicing, metal window manufacture and other products used by
the construction industry. The major industrial establishments in Ho
Chung include several large bleaching and dyeing factories, a bean
curd factory, metal works, vehicle repairs, food processing and
drying, plastic factories and light engineering. There are also many
temporary factories operating under short-term waiver/tenancy in other
areas of Sai Kung District. These are mainly associated with assembly
of plastic goods and toys.
Agriculture and Mariculture
Over the past decade, the pattern of farming in the District
has changed.
The extensive growing of rice and field crops has
greatly decreased in significance while intensive market gardening has
increased in importance.
At the same time, the amount of good
agricultural land has dwindled due to the increased encroachment of
residential and industrial development.
Despite these changes,
agriculture within the District is still an important source of
livelihood for many local people and an attractive feature in its own
right. For example, agriculture and fishing still showed a modest
gain, in terms of employment, over the period 1976 to 1986 (from 970
to 1000). Agriculture should therefore be looked at as an important
industry and its role in the rural economy should not be undermined.
With this in mind, it is proposed that two large agriculture zones in the Pak Kong and Ho Chung valleys - be conserved and protected from
residential development.
To safeguard the District's mariculture interests, eight
fish culture zones have been designated along the coastline at Leung
Shuen Wan, Tiu Cham Wan, Tai Tau Chau, Kai Lung Wan, Kau Sai Wan, Ma
Nam Wat, Po Toi 0 and Tin Ha Wan.
Transport
Roads
Clear Water Bay Road and Hiram's Highway are the main roads
serving the District.
Both roads become saturated on Sundays and
public holidays during the swimming season as a result of the large
influx of visitors to the District.
To meet these increasing traffic demands, major improvements
are proposed and programmed, including : (i) the provision of a
flyover at Hiram's Highway/Clear Water Bay Road junction - scheduled
for completion in 1990/1991; (ii) the dualling of Hiram's Highway
through to Ho Chung - scheduled for completion in 1992/1993; (iii) the
widening of Hiram's Highway from Ho Chung to Sai Kung Town - scheduled
for completion in 1995/1996; and (iv) the widening of Clear Water Bay
Road from Hiram's Highway junction to Hang Hau Road - the need for and
the timing of this improvement is uncertain at present pending further
investigation of the level of traffic flows generated by the
development of Junk Bay New Town.
Public Transport
Regular scheduled public bus services connect Kowloon with
various parts of the Sai Kung District while subsidiary bus routes
link Sai Kung Town with the more remote inland areas. Supplementary
services are also provided by public light buses and franchised
maxicabs.
Public transport services along Clear Water Bay Road and
Hiram's Highway will be progressively improved to meet demands created
by recreational and other developments in the District.
Conservation and Recreation
Major conservation measures are required to protect the
District's outstanding scenery, significant
wildlife
habitats,
luxuriant woodland, high quality coastal waters and heritage sites.
Unless these assets are safeguarded from urban development or even
from over-use for recreational purposes, they may well be lost
forever. The Ho Chung and Chuk Kok woodlands, Tai Ho Tun mangroves,
the intertidal sands at Tai Wan and Seung Sz Wan, and the rocky
shoreline of Clear Water Bay are major assets to be conserved.
There are also some important heritage sites in the District
which need to be protected because all are exposed to the elements and
quite weathered.
They are the Chinese Customs House at Fat Tong
Chau, the Sung Dynasty Rock Inscription and the Tin Hau Temple (Tai
Miu) at 3oss House Bay, the Ching Dynasty Fort at Tung Lung Chau, and
the Lung Ha Wan Rock Carving.
The District's many islands will largely be maintained in
their natural state although some limited expansion for recreational
purposes will be considered.
Sai Kung District is famous for a wide range of recreation
activities and these can be divided into three broad groups :
land-based, shore-based and water-based.
Picnicking and hiking
predominate in the Country Parks while the most heavily used beaches
are located at Silverstrand and Clear Water Bay. Hebe Haven is the
principal mooring area for pleasure craft outside Hong Kong Island,
and is the base for boating in the eastern waters of the Territory.
The increasing demand for recreation generated by the
Territory as a whole and locally by the development of 3unk Bay New
Town, will place increasing pressure on the District's resources. It
is therefore necessary to ensure that the District's recreation
resources are not squandered and current plans seek to encourage
intensive recreation uses in those areas which can best accommodate
them - thereby easing the pressure on other more sensitive areas.
Country Parks
Designated Country Parks in Sai Kung District comprise : (i)
Clear Water Bay Country Park; (ii) Kiu Tsui Chau Country Park; (iii)
part of Ma On Shan Country Park; (iv) Sai Kung West Country Park and
(v) Sai Kung East Country Park. They cover nearly the whole of Sai
Kung Peninsula with a total area of about 7 600 ha and attract over 1
million visitors every year.
These Country Parks provide a focus for both relatively
intensive recreational uses (e.g. barbecue and picnic activities) and
opportunities for extensive use (e.g. hiking, and climbing); while at
the same time conserving the landscape and scenic value of the areas,
protecting their vegetation cover and wildlife and preserving sites of
historical interest. Development within the boundaries of the Country
Parks is generally not permitted apart from those associated with the
Park's facilities. The Country Parks are managed by the Country Parks
Authority.
Rural Park
A rural park, which is a new concept in recreation planning
in Hong Kong, is proposed to be developed on a 50 ha site behind the
village of Seung Sz Wan on the Clear Water Bay Peninsula. The site is
easily accessible by car and public transport. The design of the park
will retain a strong rural setting of natural vegetation and will
contain fewer "hard" elements than those in the urban areas, but will
accommodate a higher level of recreational provision and accept more
intensive usage than the existing Country Parks in the District.
Facilities to be provided could well include camp sites, play areas,
picnic and barbecue areas, gardens and an arboretum, cabins for hire
and woodland walks.
The development of a Rural Park in Sai Kung District will
supplement the facilities provided by the Country Parks and ease some
of the pressure on facilities within them.
Beaches
The District is well-endowed with attractive and easily
reached beaches.
There are 8 gazetted beaches, 20 non-supervised
beaches, and numerous other more remote beach areas.
Existing beach facilities will be upgraded progressively by
providing changing rooms, toilets and kiosks. Plans are in hand to
improve footpath access to the more remote beaches and to provide pier
landing facilities to popular beaches on the nearer islands.
Boating
The District's offshore waters are already well used for
water-skiing, cruising and racing. To further meet boating needs,
offshore water recreation zones have been identified in which such
activities can take place safely.
Several sheltered water areas along the coastline are zoned
to enable wind-surfers, canoeists and novice sailors to pursue their
sports.
Hebe Haven is already a well-established boating centre, and
expansion of boating activities could be accommodated. Current plans
provide for a further increase in the number of moorings, together
with better facilities at Pak Sha Wan (new boatyards, shops, houses
and car parking) and possible marina development at Ta Ho Tun and Nam
Wai.
These proposals will enhance Hebe Haven's standing as one of
Hong Kong's premier pleasure craft centres.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:
New Territories/South Development Office,
17/fl, Murray Building, Garden Road,
Central, Hong Kong
Tel. 5-8482756
May 1987
SAIrKUNG DISTRICT
PLANNING PROPOSALS
A MA ON SHAN
MA ON SHAN
COUNTRY PARK
r
SAI KUNG WEST
COUNTRY PARK
SAI KUNG EAST
COUNTRY PARK
^»
FEI NGO SHAN
(KOWLOON PEAk)
CLEAR
WATER
BAY
COUNTRY
PARK
N
MAIN DEVELOPMENT AREAS
•••••
SAI KUNG DISTRICT BOUNDARY
MAIN AGRICULTURAL AREAS
— •—
JUNK BAY NEW TOWN BOUNDARY
INSHORE WATER RECREATION AREAS
*******
MAIN ROAD
RURAL PARK
yb
GAZETTED BEACH
CLEAR WATER BAY COUNTRY CLUB
0^0
HERITAGE
COUNTRY PARK
±
MARINAS
MAJOR RECREATION A R E A
SITES
OFFSHORE WATER RECREATION AREAS
Existing
Waterfront
of
Sai
Kung Town
Typical New Village
Public
Rental
Houses in Sai
Housing
Kung
in Tui Min Hoi
1
Ho
Private
Chung
Residential
Marina
Residential Housing in Pan
Long Wan
Sports Ground at
Sai
Sai Rung Town
Kung Town Hall
Waterslides
Barbecue
at
Clear
Area in Clear
Water
Water
Bay
Bay
Beach
Country
Park
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[HKP] 711.4095125 H77 Ts
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UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG
LIBRARY
Hong Kong Collection
Gift from
To.wn Planning Office, Hong Kong
Date Due
With the Compliments
of the
PROJECT MANAGER
r-
NT/South Development Office