Court of Appeal upholds ruling against gov’t over Fanling golf course housing plan

Hong Kong's Court of Appeal has upheld a lower court's ruling against the government's plan to build public housing on a golf course in Fanling. The Court of Appeal's decision on Monday reinforced a 2023 verdict where a judge supported the Hong Kong Golf Club, which had challenged the government's approval of an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report for the housing project.

The golf club's legal challenge centered around claims of insufficient public consultation and an inadequate consideration of ecological concerns in the EIA report. The High Court agreed with the golf club's argument that the government should have reopened the project to public consultation after submitting additional information, including surveys on affected bird and moth populations.

The Court of Appeal reiterated the "unfairness" in the consultation process and noted that the government's failure to address this deficiency constituted an unfairness overall.

The government's plan was to construct 33,600 units of public housing on a 9.5-hectare part of the Fanling golf course, which is part of a larger 32-hectare area that has been returned to the government. Following the court's ruling in favor of the golf club, the Development Bureau stated that the decision would have a "substantial impact" on the yield and completion dates of Hong Kong's housing goals.