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Paper 1 · Lesson 1 — Planning and Foreign Ownership

Plot ratio GFA

Gross plot ratio and gross floor area, site coverage, building height, and the development-quantum arithmetic they drive.

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Question 1

A developer holds a plot with a Master Plan plot ratio of 2.5 over a site of 2,000 square metres, and wants to know the gross floor area he may build on it. He recalls that the plot ratio and the site area give the gross floor area when the two are multiplied together, but he wants his consultant to confirm the figure before he plans the scheme, and to make sure he has not mistaken the method for one of dividing or adding.

Which figure is correct?

  1. A. 5,000 square metres, the plot ratio being multiplied by the site area.
  2. B. 800 square metres, the site area being divided by the plot ratio.
  3. C. 2,002.5 square metres, the plot ratio being added to the site area.
  4. D. 4,000 square metres, the plot ratio being rounded down before multiplying.
Show the answer and full explanation

Answer: A

The rule. Gross floor area equals the plot ratio multiplied by the site area.

Why A is correct. 2.5 × 2,000 = 5,000 square metres.

The other options.

  • B divides.
  • C adds.
  • D rounds the plot ratio down before multiplying, which the rule does not do.

Exam note. Multiply, do not round or add. The plot ratio is used as it stands.

Gross floor area equals the plot ratio multiplied by the site area →

Practise it under exam conditions

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