The Government will press ahead with making use of a small part of the Fanling Golf Course (FGC) site for public housing development and has no intention to use it as a public golf course.

Secretary for Development Bernadette Linn made the statement in response to questions from legislator Michael Tien at the Legislative Council today.

She said the FGC’s 32 hectares of land east of Fan Kam Road is under a short-term tenancy and will be reverted to the Government on September 1 upon expiry of the tenancy by the end of August.

To satisfy the approval conditions of the Environmental Impact Assessment, the Government needs to review the development scale and layout of the about 9.5 hectares of land for housing development at the northernmost portion of the 32 hectares of land.

However, the development chief pointed out that this housing project is on government land and does not involve any clearance and rehousing issues.

Unlike the majority of other development projects which require resumption of private lands and clearance of existing land users, this project remains time-competitive and is still one of the Government’s supplying projects for the next decade, Ms Linn added.

From September 1, the Leisure & Cultural Services Department will take over management of the 32 hectares of land, of which about 22 hectares will be used for conservation and passive recreational use for public enjoyment.

The remaining portion of land reserved for public housing development will also be managed by the department temporarily. Details of the opening arrangement will be announced later.

Ms Linn said the 32 hectares of land only involves the first to eighth holes of the FGC’s old course. The Government has no intention to use those holes as a public golf course.

In fact, the Government has previously introduced clauses in the renewed private recreational lease of the 140-hectare of land west of Fan Kam Road, requiring the Hong Kong Golf Club to further open up the FGC’s sports and recreational facilities for use by more members of the public, she added.