• About Us
    • Fact Checking Policy
    • Ownership & funding information
    • Volunteer
  • Subscribe
  • Letter submission
    • Submissions Policy
  • Contact Us
The Online Citizen Asia
  • Opinion
    • Editorial
    • Commentaries
    • Letters
    • Comments
  • Current Affairs
    • Singapore
    • Malaysia
    • Indonesia
    • China
    • ASEAN
    • Asia
    • International
  • Finance
    • Economics
    • Labour
    • Property
    • Business
  • Community
    • Arts & Culture
    • Consumer Watch
    • NGO
    • Lifestyle
    • Travel
  • Politics
    • Civil Society
    • Parliament
    • Transport
    • Education
    • Environment
    • Health
    • Housing
  • Law & Order
    • Legislation
    • Court Cases
No Result
View All Result
  • Opinion
    • Editorial
    • Commentaries
    • Letters
    • Comments
  • Current Affairs
    • Singapore
    • Malaysia
    • Indonesia
    • China
    • ASEAN
    • Asia
    • International
  • Finance
    • Economics
    • Labour
    • Property
    • Business
  • Community
    • Arts & Culture
    • Consumer Watch
    • NGO
    • Lifestyle
    • Travel
  • Politics
    • Civil Society
    • Parliament
    • Transport
    • Education
    • Environment
    • Health
    • Housing
  • Law & Order
    • Legislation
    • Court Cases
No Result
View All Result
The Online Citizen Asia
No Result
View All Result

S’pore takes a ‘long-term view’ on development and conservation, says National Development Minister Desmond Lee

He emphasised that Clementi Forest and Dover Forest will remain as "residential zones"

by kathleen
02/02/2021
in Environment, Parliament
Reading Time: 3 mins read
18
S’pore takes a ‘long-term view’ on development and conservation, says National Development Minister Desmond Lee

Singapore’s approach to land use and conservation is “quite different” as a city-state that needs to balance the demands and trade-offs of between different needs such as housing, offices, community facilities and green spaces, said Minister for National Development Desmond Lee on Monday (1 February).

Responding to questions on the Government’s approach to conservation sparked by the recent public outcry to conserve Clementi Forest and Dover Forest after it was revealed that the two green spaces had been zoned for residential development.

Mr Lee spoke at length about the various factors that land-scarce Singapore takes into consideration in development planning which has to cater everything from residential areas to as airports and seaports, air bases and military training ground, reservoirs, incineration and power plants, agriculture and more.

He said, “We’ve always taken a long-term view towards land use planning, with stewardship and sustainability as core long-held principles.”

“Given our small size we have been and have to be judicious in stewarding our scarce land resources to support Singapore’s development as well as in our aspiration to be in a city to be a City in Nature,” said the Minister, adding also that the nation’s land use needs have evolved over the years and will continue to do so.

Mr Lee then used the example of public housing to illustrate this evolution.

“Today, we continue to see a high demand for new HDB (Housing and Development Board) flats. In 2020, the overall application rate for BTO [Built-to-Order] flats was 5.8 times. This means that for each BTO flat, we broadly get between five and six Singaporean applicants,” he said.

The minister cited marriage and family formation as the driving factor behind this increase, adding that the government expects a higher demand for BTO flats from the “echo baby boomer” cohort born in the late 80s and 90s.

Mr Lee went on, “We built an average of 16.200 new HDB flats each year over the same period to cater to BTO demand by all buyer groups and not just newlyweds,” adding that the demand for public housing is also driven by the growing trend of smaller households.

After all that, Mr Lee went on to assure members of the House that the MND is “committed to stewarding and protecting” the country’s green spaces. Even so, he stressed the need for further development of green spaces.

“But given our physical constraints and scarce land area, there will be some greenfield sites that we might have to develop to meet our land use needs,” he said.

Though he also reiterated what he had said last week that “any decision to proceed [with development of greenfield sites] is made only after detailed study of the trade-offs and alternatives including the assessment of ecological and biodiversity value.”

Where development cannot be avoided, “we proceed we care,” he added.

Touching specifically on the Clementi Forest, Mr Lee repeated his statement in Parliament in January when he said that the land was rezoned as residential “subject to detailed planning 23 years ago since the Master Plan 1998”.

He added, “While there is no immediate need to develop the site for housing, We will retain the zoning of the site for now.”

“This will give our future generations the options of deciding whether to use it for housing as intended by Generations gone by or to review its land use if the need arises.”

The same goes for Dover Forest—also known as Ulu Pandan by the HDB—which was rezoned as “residential” in the 2003 Master Plan, also subject to detailed planning.

 

For just US$7.50 a month, sign up as a subscriber on The Online Citizen Asia (and enjoy ads-free experience on our site) to support our mission to transform TOC into an alternative mainstream press.

Related Posts

Kajang cops chided for denying woman access to police HQ because she was wearing shorts
Community

Kajang cops chided for denying woman access to police HQ because she was wearing shorts

03/02/2023
Adani’s brother runs SG company and registers as director with local ID
Current Affairs

Adani’s brother runs SG company and registers as director with local ID

03/02/2023
Minister Tan See Leng only reveals 500 intra-corporate transferees from India for last year – a Covid year
Opinion

Increasing number of working Permanent Residents in Singapore but with a stable PR population

03/02/2023
Opinion

A multi-party parliament is the only way to make sure that Singapore continues to not condone or tolerate corruption

03/02/2023
Anwar criticised over appointing own daughter as his senior advisor
Malaysia

Anwar criticised over appointing own daughter as his senior advisor

03/02/2023
Level of unemployment in Indonesia shows failure in the Job Creation Law, says KSPI
Indonesia

Level of unemployment in Indonesia shows failure in the Job Creation Law, says KSPI

02/02/2023
Subscribe
Connect withD
Login
I allow to create an account
When you login first time using a Social Login button, we collect your account public profile information shared by Social Login provider, based on your privacy settings. We also get your email address to automatically create an account for you in our website. Once your account is created, you'll be logged-in to this account.
DisagreeAgree
Notify of
Connect withD
I allow to create an account
When you login first time using a Social Login button, we collect your account public profile information shared by Social Login provider, based on your privacy settings. We also get your email address to automatically create an account for you in our website. Once your account is created, you'll be logged-in to this account.
DisagreeAgree
18 Comments
Newest
Oldest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

Latest posts

Kajang cops chided for denying woman access to police HQ because she was wearing shorts

Kajang cops chided for denying woman access to police HQ because she was wearing shorts

03/02/2023
Adani’s brother runs SG company and registers as director with local ID

Adani’s brother runs SG company and registers as director with local ID

03/02/2023
Minister Tan See Leng only reveals 500 intra-corporate transferees from India for last year – a Covid year

Increasing number of working Permanent Residents in Singapore but with a stable PR population

03/02/2023

A multi-party parliament is the only way to make sure that Singapore continues to not condone or tolerate corruption

03/02/2023
Anwar criticised over appointing own daughter as his senior advisor

Anwar criticised over appointing own daughter as his senior advisor

03/02/2023
Level of unemployment in Indonesia shows failure in the Job Creation Law, says KSPI

Level of unemployment in Indonesia shows failure in the Job Creation Law, says KSPI

02/02/2023

The Keppel bribery scandal tests Singapore’s zero-tolerance policy towards corruption

02/02/2023
Singapore Law Watch removes commentary on CPIB’s decision to not prosecute former Keppel executives

Singapore Law Watch removes commentary on CPIB’s decision to not prosecute former Keppel executives

02/02/2023

Trending posts

Former Singaporean shares change of life in Australia with annual pay of S$80,000 as a plumber

Former Singaporean shares change of life in Australia with annual pay of S$80,000 as a plumber

by Yee Loon
30/01/2023
25

...

Earning only S$400 a month, delivery-rider turned hawker threw in the towel after two years of running a rojak stall

Earning only S$400 a month, delivery-rider turned hawker threw in the towel after two years of running a rojak stall

by Yee Loon
26/01/2023
24

...

They have done a fine job of confusing us about the jobs situation

They have done a fine job of confusing us about the jobs situation

by Augustine Low
01/02/2023
36

...

Two Indian nationals paid about S$330 and S$730 respectively for forged certificates submitted in their S-Pass application

MOM found issuing EPs meant for foreign PMETs to PRC waitress and general worker

by Correspondent
26/01/2023
41

...

Singapore warns slower economic growth in 2023

Less than 1 in 10 jobs created in first three quarters of 2022 went to Singaporeans?

by Leong Szehian
28/01/2023
69

...

Excessively charging for an essential need, and calling it affordable because people still can pay for it?

by Terry Xu
31/01/2023
39

...

February 2021
M T W T F S S
1234567
891011121314
15161718192021
22232425262728
« Jan   Mar »

The Online Citizen is a regional online publication based in Taiwan and formerly Singapore’s longest-running independent online media platform.

Navigation

  • Editorial
  • Commentaries
  • Opinion
  • Politics
  • Community

Support

  • Contact Us
  • Letter submission
  • Membership subscription

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Instagram
  • Fact Checking Policy
  • Privacy Policy

© 2022 - 2023 The Online Citizen Asia

No Result
View All Result
  • Opinion
    • Editorial
    • Commentaries
    • Comments
  • Current Affairs
    • Malaysia
    • Indonesia
    • China
    • ASEAN
    • Asia
    • International
  • Finance
    • Economics
    • Labour
    • Property
    • Business
  • Community
    • Civil Society
    • Arts & Culture
    • Consumer Watch
    • NGO
  • Politics
    • Parliament
    • Transport
    • Education
    • Environment
    • Health
    • Housing
  • Law & Order
    • Legislation
    • Court Cases
  • Lifestyle
    • Travel
  • Subscribers login

© 2022 - 2023 The Online Citizen Asia

wpDiscuz