Inside the Ex-Lamma Quarry photo gallery and Lamma-zine story:
Dec 29, 2012: YMCA Lamma Island Outdoor Centre.

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Well, I can't zoom to read the small print for some reason however I did read it at the ferry pier and was a bit concerned about the bit (well hidden) in the text towards the middle-end at the bottom, which refers in English to a 'shuttle service' and in Chinese, according to another person who was reading beside me, a 'shuttle bus' between south and north Lamma.

What will they do, drive a tunnel through the mountain? Knock down the houses to make a wide enough road into YSW?

Cause for concern enough though.

Boss, you can ask them in person this Sat, Jan 12 10am-1pm in the YSW Primary School, in the next forum about the Govt.' ex-Lamma Quarry plans:
http://www.ex-lammaquarry.hk/download/RegForm.pdf

A few YSW residents went to the same SKW workshop last Sat, but the connection from the ex-Lamma Quarry housing development to YSW was never mentioned, as far as I remember, except ferries.

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Sorry, out of town. Perhaps someone else could ask about this? It was mentioned about 3 blocks from the end of the wall presentation, towards the bottom of the page, quite nicely hidden away. Chinese was immediately to to the left as I understand it.

Thank you

The entire 10-panel Roving Exhibition will be displayed in the Central Ferry Pier 4 from today till Jan 20. They're also all online - http://www.ex-lammaquarry.hk/download/ELQ%20panel.pdf - plus a lot more info, the leaflet sent to all Lamma households last week, the detailed study booklet, etc:
http://www.ex-lammaquarry.hk/info.html

I've checked through the 10 exhibition panels online ... what you're referring to is this sentence:
"A tree-lined access corridor running along the south-western to north-eastern end with shuttle services is proposed to connect different areas within the Study Site" to complement the primary modes of transportation, walking and cycling, within the development.

The Family Trail to YSW will not be touched or upgraded as there's no traffic allowed outside the site, only the existing hiking trails, according to the study's 3 options.

The only new external path they're suggesting is a connection to Lo So Shing as there's no direct land connection from the Quarry to Lo So Shing or Sok Kwu Wan right now, "subject to further study".

I'll be asking the consultants from ARUP and Planarch for more details in this Saturday's public forum.

OK, summary of last Sat's Workshop to follow - several groups suggested no housing in the quarry, but other uses - here are some pictures first:

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I bow to your better reading skills (and my poor eyesight perhaps). So no shuttle from South to North?

Whew, that's a relief. Thanks LG. Sorry if I have alarmed anyone unnecessarily.

Not in the plan as presented. But you can be sure that the district councillors would be pushing for one in a few years.

It would cost a few hundred million in earthworks and concrete and take 5 years, and destroy the whole east coastline. Instead, they could spend a few hundred thousand a year to have a subsidised sampan on call to do it, tomorrow. While the government has billions to spend on building roads, it will not spend a cent on a direct transport subsidy, as that would be against their principles. The main principle being of course that every project must transfer wealth to real estate and construction companies.

Just got the flier below emailed from YMCA Camping.

Plus my story and photo gallery inside the ex-Lamma Quarry, where I've just added some more Quarry camping photos from the YMCA:
http://www.compunicate.com/Lamma-zine/includes_news.html#Jan5

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Are they planning for government housing? I hope Lamma residents can qualify 1st and have some sort of concessions too.

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Sabe 1

You can read all the details on http://www.ex-lammaquarry.hk
They do say there will be some public housing, but it's ridiculous to pretend they're doing it to help the housing situation, when it's really just another Cyberport-style deal to sell expensive flats to yuppies and investors, not provide housing for lower income people who need it.
If they have any public housing, you'd probably have to be on waiting list for 10 years to qualify. The only time they give priority to locals is when they've lost their previous housing due to the development, and this is on a new site, so no one will have such a claim. Certainly not anyone in YSW. Anyway, it will be at least 10 years before it's built if it goes ahead at all.

It'll give the landlords here yet another excuse to raise our rents -- one of the groups at the meeting said that "rents and house prices on Lamma are too low and this will help" (to make them higher).

Before the lamma ferry crash there were no places for rent... And now the shop windows are filling up again with properties... And those prices will drop again when they can't find anyone willing to rent!!

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Sabe 1

Living Lamma newsletter about the Quarry "Consultation".

See you tomorrow at 10 am in the N. Lamma Primary School for the 2nd public forum?

Deadline for comments: Feb 6.
http://www.ex-lammaquarry.hk/contact.html

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Loads of alternative ideas for future usage of the Quarry are coming in from overseas Lamma-zine readers, in reply to my Housing in Ex-Lamma Quarry? mass email yesterday:

"The site of HK's new Formula One Race Track?

A future "secure" agricultural area dedicated to the cultivation of Medicinal Canabis?

A new energy development featuring mirrors to be installed on the quarry walls which will be focused so as to power a steam generator like in France?

Hong Kong's new, and expanded Petting Zoo and Serpentarium?"


There was even a very detailed thesis by HKU a few years back for a Lamma Meditation Centre inside the Quarry.

Who's got some more ideas of what to use the Quarry for, instead of filling it up with high-rise public and private housing?

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Why might it lead to a rise in rents/prices in YSW? You could also present an argument for the opposite effect ...

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Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears.

Because anything is an excuse to raise rents .

Of course, a development that's an hour's travel away should logically have no effect here. You can get to Central much faster than to Sok Kwu Wan.
But they'll do it anyway.

In-depth story about last Saturday's Ex-Lamma Quarry workshop in Sok Kwu Wan, by Mo Tat Wan's Damon Wong:

http://www.inmediahk.net/skw

In Chinese only, but a Google translation gives you the gist.

See you at today's public forum in the Northern Lamma School at 10am, Sat, Jan 12. Should be a most lively and controversial event....

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Today's Policy Address states:

"We will develop ... former Lamma Quarry." Para 73 (x).

So I guess it's a case of trying to influence what gets done, not whether it's done or not.

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Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears.

I hope we can all agree that HK urgently needs more housing - private and public. More supply would alleviate the crazy increase in property pricing. The new apartments need to go somewhere and the quarry is not currently being used.

So what exactly is the problem?

There would be maybe 2000 (expensive) flats. They would do nothing to help anyone needing affordable housing. They'd probably be bought by mainland investors or maybe as weekenders. Or just remain empty like the ones at the Tannery have for the last 10 years. There could never be a community there.

There is no infrastructure there, no jobs, no transport. They'd need a new fresh water main from HK Island. A fleet of ferries. A tenth of the investment somewhere accessible could house many more.

SKW's only industries is a sunset fishing trade and restaurants. The quarry could only be a dormitory. And if you're going to have a dormitory, put it somewhere closer to schools, jobs, hospitals, MTR.

It's just a way for CY to say he's doing something to help housing. It already belongs to the government so they don't have any compensation issues. That's the only plus for the location as housing: less paperwork.

A lot of people are pretty unhappy at the the forested park that has grown there being lost. Various kinds of eco-park have been proposed, but the government is just focused on handing the land over to some developer to play the real estate market.

All this was discussed at length at the meetings last Saturday and before that at SKW. It wasn't just greenie gweilos complaining either.

It's closer to schools & hospitals than Yung Shue Wan, which is also effectively a dormitory town.

I agree part of the project should be public housing, but surely involving some private developers will mean they share the cost of building the necessary infrastructure?

I too would ideally rather Lamma was not further developed but I think this is unrealistic in such an overcrowded city.