中融重建伦敦水晶宫计划缘何流产

It took just eight months to build the grand Crystal Palace exhibition centre in 1851. But a proposal by Chinese developers to build a 500m replica of the original Victorian glass and iron structure in a park in south London led to more than two years of talks, only to collapse in March this year.

1851年，英国仅用8个月时间就建成了水晶宫(Crystal Palace)这座宏伟的展览中心。中国开发商以5亿英镑重建水晶宫的计划却花了两年多时间来谈判，结果谈判还在今年3月破裂了。水晶宫最初坐落在伦敦南部的一个公园内，是维多利亚时代的玻璃和钢结构建筑。

The failure to secure the deal underscores the challenges in business dealings between China and the UK.

谈判无果突显出中英在达成商业交易方面所面临的挑战。

The Hong Kong-based ZhongRong Group had planned to build a “cultural destination” in the spirit of the original with exhibition space, a hotel, conference facilities, galleries and sales rooms — a range of uses its organisers say would have created up to 2,000 jobs.

中融集团(ZhongRong Group)原本计划恢复原建筑物的风貌，建设一个“文化胜地”，将包括展会场所、一家酒店、会议设施、画廊和拍卖场——组织者称，这些用途本可创造多达2000个就业岗位。

But as is the accepted practice in China, ZhongRong Group expected to take possession of the land before it had secured planning permission and ahead of producing a detailed business plan accepted by Bromley council, the local authority responsible for the park.

但就像中国公认的做法一样，中融集团希望在获得规划许可和编制一份布罗姆利区议会批准的详细商业计划书之前获得土地所有权，布罗姆利区议会是该公园的地方主管当局。

Richard Ford, head of international planning at Pinsent Masons, which advised ZhongRong Group, said it came close to being agreed but floundered because of the different approach to planning between the two nations.

为中融集团提供咨询服务的品诚梅森律师事务所(PinsentMasons)的国际规划主管理查德輠祹(Richard Ford)表示，协议曾接近达成，但因两国的规划惯例不同而流产。

“Chinese clients have told us that the state normally bends over backwards to deliver everything,” said Mr Ford. “In the UK that’s just not the case because of the legal requirements and duties to the electorate.”

“中国客户告诉我们，国家通常会不遗余力地办成一切，”福特表示，“在英国，由于法律规定和对选民负有义务，情况却并非如此。”

One of the key differences is that the Chinese are used to securing the land up-front before delivering on the terms of the contract. In the UK, developers only secure the land after fulfilling various contractual obligations including satisfying planning, business planning and funding criteria, such as pre-sales.

一个重大分歧在于，中方习惯于在履行合同条款前预先获得土地。在英国，开发商只有在履行了各种合同义务后才会获得土地，包括满足规划、商业计划和融资标准，例如预售。

The desire to secure the land beforehand is “not unique to the Chinese, but it’s not normal practice in the UK, particularly in the public sector, where mayoral and local authorities have to be more cautious”, said Mr Ford.

福特表示，预先获得土地所有权的愿望“并非中国人独有，但在英国并非惯例，尤其是在公共部门，在这方面，市长和地方当局必须更为谨慎”。

This was especially the case at Crystal Palace, where a 1990 act of parliament specified that any new building on the site must be in the spirit of the original.

水晶宫项目尤其如此，1990年的一项议会法案明确提出，任何在原址上的新建筑都必须秉承原物风貌。

The council also failed to agree on how much of the park the ZhongRong Group would be allowed to develop.

此外，布罗姆利区议会未能就中融集团在该公园的开发范围达成一致。

Stephen Carr, Conservative councillor for Bromley, said it would have been a “huge leap of faith” to proceed without planning consent. “If they had ownership of the site and didn’t get consent, they could potentially have redeveloped it as they wanted. I don’t think that would have happened but we are custodians of a significant site and international brand and we needed more certainty before we could hand it over.”

布罗姆利区议会的保守党议员斯蒂芬愠尔(Stephen Carr)表示，在没有得到规划许可情况下推进项目将是“极大的冒险”。“如果他们拥有这块地的所有权，但没有获得许可，他们可能会随意改造。我不认为会发生那样的事情，但我们是这块要地及国际品牌的看护人，在转交之前我们需要更多确定性。”

Mr Ford suggested the government establish a middle ground that takes into account the differences in planning practices between the nations — for example, paying for a proportion of the land up-front, but not all of it. It could also look at reforming the planning system to consider international conventions such as the zoning of land for commercial, industrial or residential use.

福特建议，政府应找到一种折中途径，将两国之间规划惯例的差异考虑在内，例如允许先行支付一定比例的土地款，但并非全部。英国政府还可以考虑改革规划制度，考虑国际惯例，例如划出特定区域用于商业、工业或住宅建设。