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14-08-13, 13:26
http://www.straitstimes.com/archive/saturday/premium/singapore/story/future-18-queenstown-sites-still-uncertain-20130810
Future of 18 Queenstown sites still uncertain
Civic group's bid to save buildings hits snag as URA outlines challenges
Published on Aug 10, 2013
By Melody Zaccheus
THE civic group behind an ambitious push to get the Government to conserve 18 buildings in Queenstown has met the relevant authorities, but it is not optimistic about the future of the buildings.
The interest group, My Community, said it is "despondent" after a meeting last month with the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA).
Urban planners had apparently told the group and the estate's Member of Parliament, Dr Chia Shi-Lu, that it was hard to conserve the early Singapore Improvement Trust (SIT) and Housing Board flats that the group had proposed, some of which are located in Commonwealth Drive, Tanglin Halt Road and Stirling Road.
The planners also said that residents could want a new sports complex in place of the existing one the group is seeking to conserve, which was built in 1969.
The group and the estate's Citizens Consultative Committee had submitted a conservation paper to the URA in early July proposing that 18 buildings in Queenstown, Singapore's oldest satellite town, be considered for protection under URA's Master Plan 2013 - a statutory plan on land use for the next 10 to 15 years.
The paper, backed by 1,000 signatures from residents, lists several SIT and Housing Board blocks built in the 1950s and 1960s. These show the evolution of public housing, the paper argued. Other sites include the Masjid Mujahidin - the first mosque constructed by the HDB - and the former Queenstown Polyclinic.
The civic group said the authorities told them of some of the challenges in conserving the sites during the two-hour meeting, like some HDB terrace blocks at Stirling Road which they said the URA felt were not unique.
"It seems that the buildings we proposed, such as the first flats built by the HDB and even the well-liked Queenstown library, are at real risk of biting the dust despite their community and heritage value," said the group's founder, Mr Kwek Li Yong, 24.
In response to queries from The Straits Times, the URA said it had a cordial discussion with the civic group to better understand its proposal to retain various buildings in Queenstown. "We are currently evaluating their proposal together with other government agencies," said its spokesman.
Dr Chia said he is looking forward to continued discussion and consultation with the authorities. "I think the civic group perhaps felt that the URA would give them an answer straightaway, but came to realise these things take time," he said.
Buildings are selected for conservation based on historical and architectural significance and their contribution to the overall environment.
Two on the list - the former Archipelago Brewery Company Brewmaster House and Princess House - were conserved in 1993 and 2007.
Queenstown resident Yeo Hock Yew, 65, a retiree, has a soft spot for the Queenstown Sports Complex, which was "home to two generations of neighbourhood kids who swam there, no doubt inspired by the triumphant Singapore water polo team of the day which had its roots there".
Ms Pei Shyun Lee, 32, an architectural associate, said Queenstown has played an important role in the evolution of the public housing typology. "But we hardly see these buildings as deserving to be gazetted as they were simply practical solutions to housing shortage issues. When these buildings are torn down, they will be experienced by future generations of architecture students only on paper."
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Future of 18 Queenstown sites still uncertain
Civic group's bid to save buildings hits snag as URA outlines challenges
Published on Aug 10, 2013
By Melody Zaccheus
THE civic group behind an ambitious push to get the Government to conserve 18 buildings in Queenstown has met the relevant authorities, but it is not optimistic about the future of the buildings.
The interest group, My Community, said it is "despondent" after a meeting last month with the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA).
Urban planners had apparently told the group and the estate's Member of Parliament, Dr Chia Shi-Lu, that it was hard to conserve the early Singapore Improvement Trust (SIT) and Housing Board flats that the group had proposed, some of which are located in Commonwealth Drive, Tanglin Halt Road and Stirling Road.
The planners also said that residents could want a new sports complex in place of the existing one the group is seeking to conserve, which was built in 1969.
The group and the estate's Citizens Consultative Committee had submitted a conservation paper to the URA in early July proposing that 18 buildings in Queenstown, Singapore's oldest satellite town, be considered for protection under URA's Master Plan 2013 - a statutory plan on land use for the next 10 to 15 years.
The paper, backed by 1,000 signatures from residents, lists several SIT and Housing Board blocks built in the 1950s and 1960s. These show the evolution of public housing, the paper argued. Other sites include the Masjid Mujahidin - the first mosque constructed by the HDB - and the former Queenstown Polyclinic.
The civic group said the authorities told them of some of the challenges in conserving the sites during the two-hour meeting, like some HDB terrace blocks at Stirling Road which they said the URA felt were not unique.
"It seems that the buildings we proposed, such as the first flats built by the HDB and even the well-liked Queenstown library, are at real risk of biting the dust despite their community and heritage value," said the group's founder, Mr Kwek Li Yong, 24.
In response to queries from The Straits Times, the URA said it had a cordial discussion with the civic group to better understand its proposal to retain various buildings in Queenstown. "We are currently evaluating their proposal together with other government agencies," said its spokesman.
Dr Chia said he is looking forward to continued discussion and consultation with the authorities. "I think the civic group perhaps felt that the URA would give them an answer straightaway, but came to realise these things take time," he said.
Buildings are selected for conservation based on historical and architectural significance and their contribution to the overall environment.
Two on the list - the former Archipelago Brewery Company Brewmaster House and Princess House - were conserved in 1993 and 2007.
Queenstown resident Yeo Hock Yew, 65, a retiree, has a soft spot for the Queenstown Sports Complex, which was "home to two generations of neighbourhood kids who swam there, no doubt inspired by the triumphant Singapore water polo team of the day which had its roots there".
Ms Pei Shyun Lee, 32, an architectural associate, said Queenstown has played an important role in the evolution of the public housing typology. "But we hardly see these buildings as deserving to be gazetted as they were simply practical solutions to housing shortage issues. When these buildings are torn down, they will be experienced by future generations of architecture students only on paper."
[email protected]