HK 'can demolish' colonial pier

Queen's Pier is a popular venue on the waterfront

Hong Kong's high court has dismissed a plea by campaigners to save a British colonial-era pier, giving the go-ahead for the government to demolish it.

Protesters had challenged the legality of a government's decision not to declare Queen's Pier a historic monument - which would have saved it.

But a judge ruled that the government had acted within its authority.

Queen's Pier, which was built in 1954, has become the focus of a campaign to preserve Hong Kong's colonial heritage.

The territory reverted from British to Chinese rule in 1997.

'Shambles'

"In my view, the applicants failed to establish that the authority had acted perversely," Judge Lam said in his ruling on Friday.

Pier pressure builds in HK

In May, experts from Hong Kong's Antiquities Advisory Board listed the pier as a Grade 1 historical building, defining it as a structure of "outstanding merit".

But the government refused to give it the status of a protected monument, arguing that it did not have the required historical significance.

The move triggered protests, and two campaigners then took the government to court, describing its decision-making process as a shambles.

They did not rule out further appeals after Friday's court ruling.

Queen's Pier was a landing spot for the British Queen, Elizabeth II, and several governors in the colonial era.

It has long been a popular open space on the waterfront for recreation, the BBC's Vaudine England in Hong Kong says.

It will now be demolished to make way for the construction of a highway and a shopping centre, our correspondent says.