Citizens Awareness Chant (Chant) group adviser Yan Lee was worried as the big hotel may come up near the post office on Flagstaff Hill.
He said the Penang Government was expected to solicit proposals from interested parties in a few weeks.
“A highly-placed source told us there is a request for proposal (RfP) for a 300-room hotel on Penang Hill.
“The RfP is to be made via one of the state’s top statutory bodies.
“If this is true, we would like to ask the Penang Government to hold public consultations first, prior to the RfP, as Penang Hill is a precious green lung,” Lee told FMT.
He feared any such huge project might destroy the greenery and sanctity of the hills.
FMT has contacted State Secretary Farizan Darus for comment.
Presently, there is only one hotel on the hill, the 12-room Bellevue Hotel.
In 1895, the Crag Hotel was established by the Sarkies Brothers of the E&O Hotel fame. It fell into disuse after the Second World War and was later leased to the Uplands School.
The school moved out in the late 1970s. The Crag Hotel was refurbished two years ago and is being used as the filming spot for top-rated UK drama “Indian Summers”.
The producers of the show have rented the hotel until 2020 for the show, together with the Woodside Bungalow nearby.
Besides hotels, bungalows from the colonial area dot the hill.
The “Ban Hin Lee”, “Lomonds”, “Richmond”, and “Edgecumbe”, in particular, have been given special protection status via a Special Area Plan (SAP) that was gazetted on Aug 1.
The Penang Hill SAP covers 468.38ha but only 9ha of the hilltop has been designated for “low-density boutique hotels and villas”.
The plan also specifies that only an estimated 50 luxury hotel rooms can be built on the hilltop — Flagstaff Hill.
The SAP recognises 36 heritage buildings on the hill. They can be used as residences, restaurants, hotels, hostels and homestays.
Three-storey buildings are only allowed to be built in a valley identified as Coolie Line.
According to Penang Monthly, the Penang Hill is mostly covered by pristine rainforest (69.03 per cent or 323.3ha) with the water catchment areas taking up 210.07ha or almost half of the area.
The Penang Hill Range consists of several hills —Strawberry Hill, Halliburton’s Hill, Flagstaff Hill, Government Hill, Tiger Hill and Western Hill.
The highest point is at Western Hill, 833m above sea level. But Flagstaff Hill (Bukit Bendera) is the most developed peak.
The top of the hill is a popular tourist destination, accessible via the Penang Hill Railway from its base station at Air Itam.
Recently, the Penang Government announced a project to list Penang Hill as a Unesco Biosphere Reserve, owing to its unique flora and fauna found there.