Make Fanling golf course an open park

文章日期：2018年2月2日

雙語社評齊齊聽

THE LEASE of the Fanling golf course (170-hectare) expires in 2020. The government intends to grant the Hong Kong Golf Club a temporary lease by way of a "hold-over arrangement" until conclusions are drawn of the land supply and lease policy review. The "hold-over arrangement" should be fair and reasonable lest it should give the impression of "dealing with the particular matter in a particular way" to give the rich and powerful preferential treatment. The Fanling golf course has long seemed a club for the rich inaccessible to most citizens. The resentment harboured by the general public reflects a deep-rooted conflict that has bred a miso-affluence mentality. Whether the Fanling golf course should be redeveloped for housing is an issue that we can discuss further. Nonetheless, it is the responsibility of the government to make sure that the golf course will genuinely be open to ordinary citizens. Furthermore, the way of leasing such land must be changed significantly.

[ENG audio 1]

After years of delay, the policy review of private recreational leases is finally about to produce initial results. The government is expected to submit its report to the Legislative Council and consult the public later this year. A detailed proposal will come out in the second half of this year at the earliest. There are altogether 67 private recreational land leases, of which four are to expire in four years. That of the Fanling golf course is one of them. For only HK$6.4 million a year in rent and rates, the Hong Kong Golf Club has rented for the use of its 2,600 and more members the piece of land nine times as large as Victoria Park. In theory, ordinary citizens may enter the course to "play a round or two" on ordinary days, but the booking charges are by no means cheap. The exceptionally high price of golf club membership gives people the impression that golfing in Fanling is an exclusive privilege of the rich and powerful.

[ENG audio 2]

The rich-poor gap continues to widen in Hong Kong, and the Fanling golf course has become a symbol of social unfairness. It is the expectation of the public that the government will grab the chance to change the terms of leasing the site or even to take back the land for other uses. The public opinion is so clear that the government cannot possibly turn a deaf ear to it. It must not just renew the 21-year lease with all the clauses unchanged.

[ENG audio 3]

We gather that, as the review has yet to end, the government is inclined to deal with the four leases which are about to expire by way of "hold-over arrangements" so that the lessees may continue to use the pieces of land in question for two or three years. But in the past examples of "hold-over arrangements", the leases were usually extended for only six months to one year. The government has suddenly used a new yardstick so that the Fanling golf course will continue to operate until at least 2022 to 2023. The strange move has aroused doubts that the government is determined to solve the problem.

[ENG audio 4]

In fact there are many ways to resolve the disputes surrounding the Fanling golf course. For example, the government may consider having a significant area of the site converted into a park open to the public. A well planned park may become a major landmark of a world city. The Central Park of New York is an example. With proper planning, the Fanling site can theoretically become a "new green landmark" that is a golf course for competition and a park.

[ENG audio 5]

Should the Fanling golf course be used for public housing? We still have to wait for the opinions of the Task Force on Land Supply. However, regardless of its conclusions, now that the Fanling lease is soon to expire and the policy review of private recreational leases is about to materialise, the government should indeed grab the opportunity to put things to rights. It should demand that the lessee truly opens its facilities to the public. It should also reduce the life of the lease.

[ENG audio 6]

開放粉嶺高球場打造綠色新地標

佔地170公頃的粉嶺高球場，租約將於2020年到期，政府有意採用「暫緩安排」方式，讓香港高爾夫球會暫時繼續租用，直至土地供應和契約政策檢討有定論為止。「暫緩安排」必須合情合理，避免予人「特事特辦」優待權貴之感。粉嶺高球場長期儼如「富人俱樂部」，大多數市民難以享用，令普羅大眾積累怨氣，折射社會深層矛盾，衍生仇富情緒。粉嶺高球場是否一定要用來建屋，可以從長計議，惟政府有責任確保粉嶺高球場真正開放給一般市民，目前的租用模式，必須顯著改變。

[PTH audio 1]

私人遊樂場地契約政策檢討拖拉多年，終於漸見眉目，預料政府將於今年稍後向立法會提交報告，並作公眾諮詢，最快下半年推出具體方案。全港有67幅私人遊樂場地，當中4份契約將於4年內到期，粉嶺高爾夫球場是其中之一。香港高爾夫球會一年繳納地租差餉約640萬元，就可租用這幅面積相當於9個維園的土地，讓2600多名會員享用。理論上，普通市民平日也可入內「打波」，可是租場費用絕不便宜，至於高球會會籍之貴，更令市民覺得在粉嶺高球場打波，是權貴專利。

[PTH audio 2]

香港社會貧富懸殊惡化，粉嶺高球場已成為社會不公平的象徵。市民期望政府把握今次機會，改變租約條款，甚或收回土地另作他用，民意相當清晰，政府不能視若無睹，繼續沿襲現有契約，按照現有租約條款，以長達21年的契約年期續租。

[PTH audio 3]

據悉政府傾向在完成檢討之前，以「暫緩安排」方式，處理即將到期的4份契約，讓承租者繼續使用2至3年。過去政府的「暫緩安排」，一般只是續租半年至1年，政府忽然改變尺度，讓粉嶺高球場起碼可以營運到2022至2023年，做法奇怪，令人懷疑政府是否有決心處理問題。

[PTH audio 4]

處理粉嶺高球場爭端，其實有很多方法，例如可以考慮將粉嶺高球場顯著面積土地改為公園，開放給市民享用。一個規劃優良的公園，可以成為國際大都會的重要地標，紐約中央公園即屬一例。只要規劃得宜，現在的粉嶺高球場，理應可以成為結合高球比賽場地和公園的「綠色新地標」。

[PTH audio 5]

當局是否應該用粉嶺高球場興建公營房屋，還待土地供應專責小組提供意見，然而不管結論為何，政府確有需要把握機會撥亂反正，趁粉嶺高球場租約即將到期，以及檢討私人遊樂場地契約政策，要求承租者向公眾真正開放設施，並且縮短土地租借年期。

[PTH audio 6]

明報社評 2018.01.03

Presented by lecturers of Hong Kong Community College, PolyU and The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Ms CHIU, Toby Yim-tung