This is to acknowledge receipt of your message. Where appropriate, we will
give you a reply. Thank you. (This is generated by an auto-reply
programme.)
本辦公室已經收到你的電郵。如有需要，我們會作出回覆。謝謝。(此為電腦自動發出
的訊息。)

Chief Executive's Office
行政長官辦公室

Dear Kwong Chan,

I refer to your email of 27 January 2019 to the Chief Executive’s Office
requesting for information including minutes of a meeting in relation to
the approval of the works of Sai Sha Residential and Recreational
Development Sai Sha Road Widening.  Your request has been referred to the
Executive Council Secretariat for consideration and reply.

In line with the principle of confidentiality of the Executive Council, we
regret to inform you that according to paragraph 2.10(a) of the Code on
Access to Information, we are unable to accede to your request for access
to papers prepared for, and records of meetings and deliberations of the
Executive Council.

Nevertheless, we have referred your request to the Transport and Housing
Bureau which will provide you with the background information and
justifications for the project separately.

If you consider that the said decision is inappropriate, you may request
this Office to review the decision or you may seek assistance from The
Ombudsman.  The Ombudsman’s address is -

30/F, China Merchants Tower
Shun Tak Centre
168-200 Connaught Road Central
Hong Kong

Telephone: (852) 2629 0555
Fax: (852) 2882 8149

Yours sincerely,
(Miss Elaine CHIU)
for Clerk to the Executive Council

From:        K Chan <[FOI #344 email]>
To:        "FOI requests at Chief Executive&#39;s Office"
<[Chief Executive&#39;s Office request email]>,
Date:        27/01/2019 12:24 AM
Subject:        Freedom of Information request - Legal Basis of Decision
for the Approval of Sai Sha Residential and Recreational Development Sai
Sha Road Widening

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Dear Chief Executive's Office,

I am writing to request the Office to reveal full details for the basis of
the approval decision for this project, including the relevant meeting
minutes, and  justifications why this project deserved to be tabled for
discussion in the Office and could be exempted from the regulation of the
Environmental Impact Assessment Ordinance, given the devastating social
and environmental  impacts that the project will lead to due to its scale
and limited benefits to solving the significant affordable housing
shortage for the majority.  

Yours faithfully,

Kwong Chan
Sai Kung Resident

-------------------------------------------------------------------

This is a request under the Code of Access to Information facilitated via
the accessinfo.hk website.

Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #344 email]

Is [Chief Executive&#39;s Office request email] the wrong address for Freedom of Information requests to
Chief Executive&#39;s Office? If so, please contact us using this form:
[1]https://accessinfo.hk/en/change_request/...

Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published on
the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:
[2]https://accessinfo.hk/en/help/officers

If you find this service useful as an FOI officer, please ask your web
manager to link to us from your organisation's FOI page.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

References

Visible links
1. https://accessinfo.hk/en/change_request/...
2. https://accessinfo.hk/en/help/officers

Dear Kwong Chan,
I refer to your email of 27 January 2019 to the Chief Executive's Office
regarding the captioned project.  
Please be advised that the email has been referred to the District Lands
Office, Tai Po, Lands Department, which is responsible for the project,
for their consideration and direct reply.
Yours sincerely,
( Cherrie CHOW )
for Secretary for Transport and Housing

Dear Mr Chan,

I refer to your email of 27 January 2019 to the Chief Executive's Office
regarding the subject project.  Your request has been referred to this
office for consideration and reply.
Please be advised that the Sai Sha Residential and Recreational
Development at Shap Sze Heung was based on a development scheme for which
planning approval was given by the Town Planning Board (TPB) in 2009.

It is noted that the developer has recently submitted another planning
application No. A/NE-SSH/120, which was approved by the Rural and New Town
Planning Committee (RNTPC) of the TPB on 18 January 2019.  The details of
the application could be found in RNTPC Paper No. A/NE-SSH/120 on TPB's
website ([1]https://www.info.gov.hk/tpb/en/meetings/...).

 
Regards,
Danny Wo
ES/S, District Lands Office, Tai Po
Lands Department
Tel: 2654 1174

References

Visible links
1. https://www.info.gov.hk/tpb/en/meetings/...

This is to acknowledge receipt of your message. Where appropriate, we will
give you a reply. Thank you. (This is generated by an auto-reply
programme.)
本辦公室已經收到你的電郵。如有需要，我們會作出回覆。謝謝。(此為電腦自動發出
的訊息。)

Chief Executive's Office
行政長官辦公室

Dear Kwong Chan,

This serves to acknowledge receipt of your email dated 24 February 2019 to
the Chief Executive's Office and your email is being processed.

Executive Council Secretariat

From:        K Chan <[FOI #344 email]>
To:        "FOI requests at Chief Executive&#39;s Office"
<[Chief Executive&#39;s Office request email]>,
Date:        24/02/2019 06:34 AM
Subject:        Internal review of Freedom of Information request - Legal
Basis of Decision for the Approval of Sai Sha Residential and Recreational
Development Sai Sha Road Widening

show quoted sections

Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #344 email]

Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published on
the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:
[2]https://accessinfo.hk/en/help/officers

If you find this service useful as an FOI officer, please ask your web
manager to link to us from your organisation's FOI page.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

References

Visible links
1. https://accessinfo.hk/en/request/legal_b...
2. https://accessinfo.hk/en/help/officers

Dear Kwong Chan,
        I refer to your email of 24 February 2019 to the Chief Executive’s
Office requesting for an internal review of your earlier request of 27
January 2019 made under the Code on Access to Information (the Code).
 Your request has been referred to the Executive Council Secretariat.

2.        An internal review has been conducted on the earlier decision in
accordance with the Code, which is available at
[1]www.access.gov.hk/en/codeonacctoinfo/index.html.  It has been noted in
the review that Part 2 of the Code, paragraph 2.1 states that

“[a] department may refuse to disclose information, or may refuse to
confirm or deny the existence of information, in the categories and for
the reasons set out below, which will normally be referred to if a request
is refused.”

3.        Paragraphs 2.3 to 2.18 set out the reasons for which information
disclosure may be refused and the categories of information that such
reasons will apply, which include “[p]apers prepared for, and records of
meetings and deliberations of the Executive Council” (Paragraph 2.10(a) ).
 

4.        The information you requested falls under the above category.
 As such, we regret to inform you that your request cannot be acceded to.
 That notwithstanding, we note that information pertaining to the road
widening works (such as the issue of Environmental Impact Assessment),
which is the subject of your request, can be found from other sources,
including open documents of the Town Planning Board (e.g. through the
Statutory Planning Portal 2 at www1.ozp.tpb.gov.hk/gos/default.aspx) as
well as other documents kept by relevant departments.  Your request has
thus been referred to the Transport and Housing Bureau and Lands
Department for follow up.  We note that the Transport and Housing Bureau
and Lands Department have both replied to you and copies of their replies
are attached to this email for easy reference.  Furthermore, we understand
that a further reply will be issued by Lands Department  in due course in
response to your enquiries.  The contact person, as set out in Lands
Department’s previous reply, is Mr Danny WO (tel: 2654 1174; email:
[2][email address]).  

5.        We hope this would address your concerns.

Yours sincerely,

(Miss Elaine CHIU)
for Clerk to the Executive Council

show quoted sections

Dear Mr Chan,

I refer to your email of 24 February 2019 to the Chief Executive's Office
requesting for an internal review of your earlier request of 27 January
2019 made under the Code on Access to Information and the reply from Clerk
to the Executive Council on 11 March 2019.  Your request has been referred
to this office for further reply.

I would convey the following advice from the Environmental Protection
Department for your information:

Having regard to Item A.1* under Part I of Schedule 2 to the Environmental
Impact Assessment Ordinance, Cap. 499 (EIAO) (Item A.1), the requirements
of paragraph 9.1 of the Technical Memorandum on Environmental Impact
Assessment Process (TM) that the Director of Environmental Protection
shall take the advice from the Commissioner for Transport (C for T) for
traffic and transport matters, C for T’s advice on the rural road
classification of Sai Sha Road before and after the proposed improvement
works and all relevant circumstances, we consider that the Sai Sha Road
Widening project does not fall within Item A.1, and is not a designated
project (DP) under the EIAO.

_____________________________________
*  Item A.1 under Part I of Schedule 2 to the EIAO refers to "A road which
is an expressway, trunk road, primary distributor road or district
distributor road including new roads, and major extensions or improvements
to existing roads."

Please contact me if you have any enquiries.

Regards,
Danny Wo
ES/S, District Lands Office, Tai Po
Lands Department
Tel: 2654 1174

This is to acknowledge receipt of your message. Where appropriate, we will
give you a reply. Thank you. (This is generated by an auto-reply
programme.)
本辦公室已經收到你的電郵。如有需要，我們會作出回覆。謝謝。(此為電腦自動發出
的訊息。)

Chief Executive's Office
行政長官辦公室

Dear Mr Chan,

Thank you for your email of 2 Jun to the Chief Executive's Office. I am
authorized to acknowledge receipt of it.  Your views are duly noted and
have also been relayed to the Lands Department for reference.

Yours sincerely,

(Natalie Lam)
for Private Secretary to Chief Executive

From:        K Chan <[FOI #344 email]>
To:        "FOI requests at Chief Executive&#39;s Office" <[Chief Executive&#39;s Office request email]>
Date:        02/06/2020 20:08
Subject:        Internal review of Freedom of Information request - Legal
Basis of Decision for the Approval of Sai Sha Residential and Recreational
Development Sai Sha Road Widening

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear Chief Executive's Office,

The project shall still be regulated by the EIA Ordinance. Let me tell you
why, because the road widening is not the only major item of the project.
 The large scale residential and recreational development are other major
items which may be regulated by the EIA Ordinance.  These other
regulatable items mentioned in the Schedule II,  are as follows:

P.2 A residential development—
(a) of not less than 2 000 flats; and
(b) not served by public sewerage networks by the time a flat is occupied.

Q.1 All projects including new access roads, railways, sewers, sewage
treatment facilities, earthworks, dredging works and other building works
partly or wholly in an existing or gazetted proposed country park or
special area, a conservation area, an existing or gazetted proposed marine
park or marine reserve, a site of cultural heritage, and a site of special
scientific interest ...

I am dissatisfied by the partial and misleading response of the Office.
This is dishonesty, and I see this a misconduct in public office.  

Yours faithfully,

K Chan

show quoted sections

Dear Mr Chan,

I refer to your email of 2 June 2020 to the Chief Executive's Office
regarding the subject.  Your request has been referred to this office for
further reply.

I would convey the following advice from the Environmental Protection
Department for your information:

"For item P.2, although the proposed residential development would provide
approximately 9 500 flats (> 2 000 flats), the application demonstrated
that the residential development would be served by public sewerage
networks by the time it is occupied and hence it may not be bound by item
P.2. Nevertheless, the applicant has been reminded that if the first
population intake at the Site happens before public sewerage networks is
available, the project would be a DP under Item P.2 of the EIAO, and that
the applicant has to follow and undergo the necessary EIAO procedure for
the subject development.

For item Q.1, based on the information provided in the application, the
proposed residential development and Sai Sha Road (both before and after
widening) do not fall partly or wholly within any environmentally
sensitive areas as stipulated in Q.1.  As such, the project does not
constitute a DP item by virtue of item Q.1."

Please contact me if you have any further enquiries.

Regards,
Danny Wo
ES/S, District Lands Office, Tai Po
Lands Department
Tel: 2654 1174

show quoted sections