Hong Kong authorities won’t appeal court halt to 12,000-flat project on golf course

Plans to build 12,000 public flats on part of Hong Kong’s oldest golf course have been thrown into serious doubt after the government chose not to appeal a court’s decision to uphold a ruling revoking the project’s environmental approval.

Authorities said on Thursday that they had decided against appealing after “holistically” considering legal advice following the Court of Appeal’s decision to uphold the overturning of conditional approval for the construction of 12,000 flats on part of the golf course in Fanling.

In a judgment delivered earlier, the court found that the official endorsement of the project’s environmental impact assessment (EIA) report was marred by an unfair public consultation process, the imposition of improper conditions and a failure to meet wildlife conservation objectives.

The ruling is likely to result in fresh public consultations over the development of the 9.5 hectares (23.5 acres) of land set aside for the project, which was initially slated for completion in 2029.