MBPP mayor Yew Tung Seang said he took note of the errors and concerns raised and assured that the feedback would be taken into account.

“It is a draft and subject to change. The council’s committee will evaluate and do the necessary,” he told reporters on the sidelines of an event at Farquhar Street.

While he did not go into specifics, civil society groups found the master plan – the 2030 draft Penang Island local plan – to be riddled with errors and alarmingly high-density allowances.

This included concerns about the island’s landscape being altered, reduced objection avenues for homeowners against new projects and risks to the island’s heritage buildings.

Detractors also took issue with the appointment of a Klang Valley-based town planning firm to oversee the development plan, saying even key landmarks had been misspelt.

This included the Queen Victoria Jubilee Clock Tower which was called “Menara Jam Queen Elizabeth” in the draft plan and Dewan Mahatma Gandhi which was spelt as “Dewah Mahatma Ghani”.

Yew, however, defended the firm, saying they were experts in the field and had been used by other local authorities in the country.

He said about 1,500 feedback forms had been received from residents to date and that these included objections and comments on the local plan.

“We take note of the mistakes in the draft, thank you, and we will rectify whatever necessary errors in there via the (planning) committee.”

Residents have until Jan 10 to submit their feedback.

He said there was no timeline to gazette the final version of the local plan. “The (planning) committee will scrutinise the comments received and decide … we hope to do it as soon as possible,” he said.

Other concerns raised by Penang civil society groups include the increased density and the high rate of commercial zoning.