The Town Planning Board is weighing an application for a caravan park already in operation in Cheung Sha.

A company called Well Power Investment Development Ltd has sought permission to place nine caravans on former Palm Beach site for three years and to build supporting facilities including a toilet, a storage area and a kiosk.

The site covers 3,016 square metres, of which 85% is designated Coastal Protection Area (CPA)., and applies to lots 62, 63, 64, 65, 66 S.B, 66 RP and 67 in D.D.331. The remainder is government land.

One of the directors of the company is Chan Shekmou, an indigenous resident of South Lantau, according to a company registry search by Apple Daily.  It says the caravans will be placed on stone and will not impact on the vegetation and argues that the proposal is consistent with the government’s ambitions to make South Lantau a tourist zone.

If approved, it would not be the first caravan park in South Lantau. A site in Tong Fuk with six caravans has been operating since 2014.

Hong Kong government’s has been been identifying sites as Coastal Protection Areas since the early 1980s in order to preserve sensitive environment and natural coastlines.

However, outside the Town Planning Ordinance, protection for CPA-designated sites is not enforced.

The Town Planning Board has set a tentative date of April 7 to discuss the application. Deadline for comments is March 10.