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Figure 4: Fanling/Sheung Shui in 1960s/1970s

Historical
Background

Developments in the Fanling/Sheung Shui
areas were once concentrated in the market
towns of Luen Wo Hui in Fanling and Shek Wu Hui
in Sheung Shui where trading and a range of commercial
activities were conducted. All these activities contributed
substantially to the bustling character of the market towns. Two
major settlements, namely the Fanling Wai and Sheung Shui Wai, have
been developed closely in association with the market towns.

Areas adjoining the market towns were once characterised by paddy fields,
fallow and plough, and clusters of farmsteads in gentle and irregular composition.
Preliminary land use plans for the now Fanling/Sheung Shui area were prepared by the
former Town Planning Office in 1971. In 1972, the Government embarked upon a large-scale
housing programme which subsequently transformed many rural areas. The housing programme
became the foundation of ambitious new town programmes, and the Government started extensive
building programmes to materialise the planned new towns (Figures 4 to 6).

Evolution of Fanling/Sheung Shui

In the early 1980s, the "North Eastern New Territories Study" was commissioned to formulate a strategy to
assess broad future land use options and guide developments. The "Fanling/Shek Wu Hui Central Areas
Study" outlining different land use patterns and development packages was completed in 1983 to form the
basis for future planning in the new town areas.

The Territorial Development Strategy Review in 1990s recommended that there was potential for strategic
growth in the North East New Territories (NENT). The Planning and Development Study on North East New
Territories (the NENT Study) commissioned in 1998 had identified areas in Kwu Tung North (KTN), Fanling
North (FLN) and Ping Che/Ta Kwu Ling (PC/TKL) to be suitable for New Development Areas (NDAs).

The NENT NDAs Planning and Engineering Study was commissioned in 2008 with a view to formulating a
planning and development framework for the implementation of the KTN, FLN and PC/TKL NDAs. It was
later decided to review and replan the PC/TKL NDA in the New Territories North (NTN) Study.

The KTN/FLN NDA, as the extension of the Fanling/Sheung Shui New Town, will be integrated to form the
Fanling/Sheung Shui/Kwu Tung (FL/SS/KT) New Town. The planned population will be about 546 100.

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