The historical Ho Tung Gardens on the Peak - built by the late philanthropist Robert Hotung in 1927 - has been declared a statutory monument despite the owner's continued objections.

The declaration was made on Monday after six rounds of negotiations between the property's owner, Ho Min-kwan - the granddaughter of Robert Hotung - and Secretary for Development Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, failed to produce any agreement.

During the talks, the government had proposed a land swap for the site, encompassing two adjacent "green belt" sites surrounding the mansion and the garden, as well as two other plots of land within the garden which are of less heritage value, including a tennis court and a car port.

Lam said the combined sites offered by the government, with a plot ratio of 0.5 and allowing for the construction of 10 low-density villas of not more than four floors each, would have been "big enough that will give (the owner) almost the same development potential."

But this was rejected by Ho who called the proposal "undesirable" because of various restrictions. Moreover, she claimed, the procedures of rezoning of the "green belt" sites may be considered too troublesome.

The government will serve notice of the declaration on the owner on Tuesday, but allow her to contemplate further action within one month.

Without agreeing to the transfer of the property rights, the owner could either resort to a judicial review to quash the government's decision, or demand compensation under the Antiquities and Monuments Ordinance.

If Ho were to choose the latter option, it would mean using taxpayers' money, which Lam said would be difficult as Ho Tung Gardens, located at 75, Peak Road, is estimated to be worth HK$3 billion. On the other hand, it would be a landmark lawsuit as the related provisions under the ordinance had never been used before.

There had been several similar cases in the past involving land swaps, including that of the 74-year-old Chinese mansion, King Yin Lei, on Stubbs Road in the Mid-Levels, that was worth HK$500 million.

"The best option would be for the owner to agree to a land swap, otherwise it'll rely on the public's frothing on the owner," said Lee Ho-yin, director of Architectural Conservation Program of the University of Hong Kong, one of the government's major advisors.

He explained that the 84-year-old mansion, built with Western architectural technology but with a classic Chinese architectural appearance, is a phenomenal representation of the so-called Chinese-renaissance-styled residence.

It is also an emblematic heritage of a group of Chinese architects in the early 20th century who studied in the West but retained an aspiration to build Chinese-style buildings.

Ho had intended to demolish the 11,520-square-meter mansion, which was declared a temporary statutory monument in January this year, and build a row of luxury villas by January 2012.

"It would be an irretrievable loss for Hong Kong society if such an East-meets-West mansion, that has witnessed the ups and downs of modern history, is brought down by bulldozers," Lam quoted experts as saying.

andrea@chinadailyhk.com

China Daily

(HK Edition 10/25/2011 page1)