Residents looking to drive out golf courses
Print Edition
GOLF courses are being blamed for depriving residents in south China’s Shenzhen City of public parks.
Recent data from the Shenzhen Urban Planning and Land and Resources Commission showed that there are 15 golf courses, either already in use or being built, occupying 2,400 hectares of land there.
Meanwhile, public parkland in the city stood at just 1,000 hectares in 2010.
As some golf courses are located downtown, this also blocks further development and places pressure on environmental resources, Xinhua news agency reported yesterday.
It gave the example of the Shenzhen Golf Club that is located in the city center. State-owned Shenzhen Construction and Development Co is one of the investors.
Dubbed “the last oasis in the city center,” the golf course is three times bigger than the public green space in the city’s Futian District.
Nearby residential areas have a population of 200,000 people, but residents told Xinhua that they don’t even have a community park, the closest being an hour’s walk away.
“Shenzhen Golf Club was especially built for only a very small number of people to use, causing the public to feel this is unfair and a waste of scarce land resources,” local political advisor Chen Zhimin said.
He suggested transforming the golf course into a public park next February, when the 30-year lease ends and the government reclaims the land.
“Many big cities around the world have left good locations for parks, such as Hyde Park in London and Central Park in New York,” he added.
Another local lawmaker Zheng Xueding urged the authorities not to use the land for commercial purposes. “This will cause further crowding,” said Zheng.
Officials from Shenzhen Urban Planning and Land and Resources Commission said the golf courses are a historic problem.
In the past, golf courses were lucrative projects for developers.
But the State Council banned new golf courses in 2004 and the city hasn’t approved any since then, the commission said.
And as the city expanded, what were suburban locations have become downtown, officials added.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
