from the map on page 2, it looks like there are going to be seven marinas on lamma. can this really be true?

Could anyone summarise the content in English?

Just asking the Official Court Translator...
When summarised, we can continue this discussion in the English forums.
Sorry, Samson, for intruding in your turf here...


Planned locations only, but yes, it's true and the land has been purchased already, including the flat stretch besides Sham Wan turtle beach. But it'll take quite a few years to get the building permissions, if ever, as there's some resistance by locals to these non-natives planning to build so much, instead of locals building more Village Houses to sell or rent out.

These plans, especially for South Lamma have also been confirmed to me personally by some local senior police. I'll have to grab a hold of Bobby Lee one of these days...

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But isn't all of S.Lamma some sort of protected area?

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Purchased? No one can purchase land here. The tannery site was the first and only land available commercially for sale, and that was auctioned publicly about 1996, if I recall. The developer has probably made some deal with the traditional owners, (who do not have freehold) but that's a long way from getting permission to build anything, even a village house. Look at Shalotung where the developer has been trying to builld a resort for about 20 years.

You're right, Alan, that's what I actually meant and it'll be very difficult to get building permissions for this off-island developer.
But there's always the possibility of rezoning and the government selling more land
.
There are also suggestions in the Chinese press about residential development of some of the huge Old Quarry area opposite Sok Kwu Wan. Just suggestions so far, no plans yet, but the Planning Dept's Lamma master plan (see my blog: Oct 31) mentions this as well as a possibility. Trying to get more details.

But let's move to the English forums...

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It'd be a real shame if the old quarry was used for residential building. It's such a nice peaceful place to go for a walk and watch all the kites circling above. Lots of nice water birds as well.

Back to that Chinese 3-page article on the Lammarina and the developer's other ambitious plans for our fair isle:

There's an artist's impression in that article of how it's supposed to look like, omitting a few "unimportant background details", like the Power Station chimneys...

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Its a complete shame that there are plans to 'develop' those areas of South Lamma at Tung O and Yung Shue Ha. If you still have my photos that I gave to you last year Lamma-gung, perhaps you can pick out some to put on the website to show what these plans will potentially obliterate.

This guys going to go bust, no ones going to pay $ 15 million plus for a house on Lamma. Justgo over the hill and you can buy for 3 million or less. Its another sea ranch . All the other sites will require permission to change of usr from agricutural , I don't think its the government policy to encourage development on Lamma. 15 years ago it was rumoured that a lot of agricultural land behind spicy had been bought by big companies, but nothing ever came of it. The tannery was different it was an industrial site and was trashed with toxic chemicals - of course the hk govt would sell it as residential land , on hot days you'll be able to smell the delicous aromas of chemicals and death.

really??!! Yau mou gaau cho??

Property on Lamma is overpriced. Would you buy property on an island where it's residents and visitors use it as a toilet for their pooches?

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I went by there the other day. Nice location. I guess there might be a few buyers at 2 or 3 million. The only market I can imagine for higher priced homes is the company-owned holiday home for corporate execs to share. But they aren't stupid. There's so many nice places on Lantau at reasonable prices.

One thing that would bother me about buying a home on Lamma is that when you walk around the island it seems like it is one big extended graveyard. I wonder how many homes have been build on top of former graves. Maybe all of them? Kinda creepy.

That Lammarina story in CAPITAL magazine, June 2005 edition, seems to have had more pages than the 3 I received.
Here are the formerly missing pages: the introduction and a double-page spread of the proud & intrepid developer & entrepreneur in front of his future "holiday village"...

Page A, page B, page C

Translation of these pages is in progress...

Here's the translation and Lamma-zine Blog story about the rest of the article:
http://www.compunicate.com/Lamma-zine/includes_news.html#Nov25

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F-X wrote:

One thing that would bother me about buying a home on Lamma is that when you walk around the island it seems like it is one big extended graveyard.

You're right there. They exhumed three graves at the old tannery site before starting construction.

Lamma has been inhabited for at least 3000 years. Relics often turn up in excavations, and I expect many developers hide or destroy more so their work won't be held up. Near PSB there are several ancient foundations excavated and studied a few years ago, now covered over again to preserve them.

Last week on ATV there was a documentary about Paris, how in the 18th C the graveyards in the centre of the city were literally overflowing. Eventually, to avoid disease and allow the land to be used, they dug up the rotting corpses, added some lime to strip off the flesh and moved the bones to catacombs on the then outskirts. I expect almost every city more than a few hundred years old is built over graves.

Ah, that may explain the recent riots then. Angry spirits driving the locals to madness.

Missed that.............. which bar was it this time?

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