SHANGHAI: Plans for a tall tower at the renowned West Lake scenic spot that were shelved two years ago for exceeding the height limit were recently brought up again - with the building's design still taller than is allowed.

The latest blueprint for the property, on display in Hangzhou, capital of Zhejiang province, shows a 48-m tower that will house a five-star hotel boasting views of the lake. This replaces the 85-m building proposed two years ago.

But the new tower still exceeds the height limit of 25 m as dictated in Hangzhou's plan for buildings within the West Lake scenic spot, which was developed to "better protect the landscape and flavor of the world-famous scenic site".

The developer, Kerry Property, declined to comment yesterday.

Staff from Hangzhou's municipal urban planning bureau said they had not received any application from the developer, which means the project has not yet been approved by the authorities.

"The newly proposed height is still too high for the West Lake area. The developer should take the interests of the whole region into consideration," Zhou Fuduo, a city-planning professor from Zhejiang University, was quoted as saying by Xinhua.

The developer said the additional stories were needed to make more profits, he said.

The planned property, which is only 100 m away from the West Lake, garnered extensive public criticism two years ago for an earlier proposal that suggested making it the tallest building in the area.

According to a survey by a local newspaper at that time, about 80 percent of respondents were against the structure, which they said would undermine the traditional flavor of the tourist site.

Kerry Property purchased the land for 2.46 billion yuan ($360 million) in early 2007, after a 72-m building belonging to Zhejiang University was demolished at the site.

Residents rejoiced at the time as they believed the demolition was carried out for the benefit of the lakeside environment. Many were disappointed at the new proposal for an even higher tower at the site.

Phillip Wei, a Hangzhou resident, said: "There are many tall buildings there already, I won't be surprised if the proposal is approved this time."

(China Daily 12/18/2009 page4)