Information Pamphlet

Information Pamphlet

Town Planning Ordinance as amended in 2023

This pamphlet aims to provide a summary of the major provisions of the Town Planning Ordinance as amended in 2023 (the Amended Ordinance). The Amended Ordinance has come into operation on 1.9.2023.


This pamphlet is intended for reference only and should not be regarded as a formal interpretation of the law.
 

Background

The existing Town Planning Ordinance (the Ordinance) was first enacted in 1939. Apart from some major amendments made in 1974 relating to the planning permission system and those made in 1991 relating to planning enforcement and the setting up of planning committees and the Town Planning Appeal Board, the Ordinance has remained largely in its original form. The Town Planning (Amendment) Ordinance 2004 came into operation on 10.6.2005, which enhanced the transparency of the planning system, streamlined the town planning process and strengthened the enforcement control against the unauthorised developments in the rural New Territories.

Society has a broad consensus for the Government to take bolder steps to expedite the supply of land. The Amended Ordinance, covering various proposals to improve the existing planning regime, was introduced into LegCo in December 2022 and passed on 13.7.2023.

Objectives of the Amended Ordinance
The main objectives of the Amended Ordinance are:

  • to streamline and shorten statutory time limits;
  • to avoid repetitive procedures of a similar nature; and
  • to strengthen enforcement power in the rural New Territories.


Major amendments of the Amended Ordinance

Streamline the Plan-making Process

Key amendments in relation to the plan-making process under the Amended Ordinance include:

  • enhancing the procedures of plan-making by dispensing with the invitation of comments on representations;
  • the representations and further representations received shall be made available for public inspection as soon as reasonably practicable;
  • the representation/further representation concerning compensation or assistance relating to, or arising from resumption/acquisition/clearance/obtaining vacant possession of any land by the Government may be treated as not having been made;
  • on top of publishing the notices in the Gazette, two local Chinese and one local English newspaper, the Town Planning Board (the Board) must publish the notice on the Board’s website;
  • each representer is entitled to attend the hearing in person. If the representer is not a natural person (e.g. company, organisation/concerned group), the representer may authorise a natural person as the representative to attend the hearing. If the representer is a natural person, he/she is required to attend the hearing in person. If the Board is satisfied that the representer is unable to attend because of exceptional circumstances, the representer may authorise another natural person to attend the hearing;
  • the Board may impose time limit on oral presentation made by each representer or “authorised representative” at the hearing;
  • if adverse further representations are received, the Board will consider the further representations without further hearing;
  • upon completion of the representation and further representation (if any) consideration process, the Board is required to submit the plan incorporating the amendments together with the representations and further representations (if any) to the Chief Executive in Council (CE in C) for approval within five months upon the expiry of the plan exhibition period (the Secretary for Development (SDEV) may extend 2 more months if needed, and in exceptional circumstances, may grant two further 2-month extensions);
  • the Board may submit the plan to CE in C for approval in whole or part as specified by the Board (“submitted part”);
  • in case the CE in C refuses to approve the plan or the submitted part, the previous approved plan or the relevant part of previous approved plan continues to take effect; and
  • the authority of referring the plans to the Board for amendment under section 12 is transferred from CE in C to SDEV.

The new plan-making process is shown in Figure 1.
 

Planning Applications
The statutory procedures for section 12A are amended so as to avoid the repetitive procedures in the plan-making process. Key amendments under the amended section 12A include:

  • the statutory time limit for consideration of section 12A application is shortened from three months to two months;
  • focusing time and resources in processing section 12A applications with realistic prospect of implementation by specifying the eligibility of applicants, including the sole land owner or one of the owners of any non-Government land within the application site, any person with written consent from at least one land owner within the application site, any person with consent from the Director of Lands (for areas falling within Government land), a public officer or a public body as defined by section 2 of Prevention of Bribery Ordinance (Cap.201);
  • avoiding duplication of procedures in the plan-making process by dispensing with the invitation of comments on section 12A applications. The planning information of a section 12A application will be published on the Board’s website administratively; and
  • for those who are not eligible for applying section 12A application, an administrative mechanism is introduced to consider rezoning proposals. A register of the submitted rezoning proposals is available for inspection on Planning Department’s website. For details, please click here.


Some amendments are also made to the existing planning application system for more effective use of public resources and to enhance the transparency of planning information:

  • for an application under section 12A, 16 or a review under section 17, further information can only be accepted (i) two months after the day of receipt of the application; or (ii) two months after the day on which the Board decides to defer its decision on the application for the applicant to give further information;
  • on top of publishing the notice in two local Chinese and one local English newspapers, upon receipt of a section 16 planning application or a review under section 17, the Board must publish the notice on the Board’s website; and
  • the applicant of a review under section 17 is required to set out the grounds for review.

The updated procedures for processing a planning application under sections 12A, 16 and 17 are set out in the Guidance Notes for planning application available here. 


Enforcement Against Unauthorized Development in the Rural New Territories
Since the Amendment Ordinance 1991 comes into force, the Planning Authority (the Authority) is empowered to take enforcement action against unauthorized developments in areas which are currently/previously included in a Development Permission Area (DPA). However, the Authority was not empowered to undertake enforcement actions in rural areas which are not previously included in a DPA. The main provisions in the Amended Ordinance are to address this deficiency in order to protect the areas from environmental degradation and to promote nature conservation.

Major provisions relating to enforcement include:

  • empower SDEV to designate areas in the New Territories to be a “Regulated Area” (RA) if the area is covered by Outline Zoning Plan (OZP) but not previously included in a DPA;
  • section 21F offence on Direct Prosecution Action is introduced.  When a RA is effective, a person must not undertake or continue development in the RA unless the development is:
    -    a pre-material date (9.12.2022) use;
    -    permitted under an OZP and that is the latest plan in relation to the RA; or
    -    planning permission has been obtained;
  • the enforcement provisions currently applicable to DPA are also applicable to RA.

Enquiries on this pamphlet may be addressed to the Technical Services Division of the Planning Department at 17/F, North Point Government Offices, 333 Java Road, North Point, Hong Kong or by email to enquire@pland.gov.hk. Relevant documents can be downloaded from the Planning Department Homepage at www.pland.gov.hk and the Town Planning Board Homepage at www.tpb.gov.hk/en.


Planning Enquiry Hotline
Tel. No. : 2231 5000
 

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