Plans to remake Toa Payoh, Woodlands and Pasir Ris

SINGAPORE — Three more towns — Toa Payoh, Woodlands and Pasir Ris — will be given facelifts under the Housing and Development Board’s (HDB) Remaking Our Heartland (ROH) programme, said Senior Minister of State (National Development) Lee Yi Shyan yesterday.

Plans for Toa Payoh include a revamped town centre and town park, as well as improved pedestrian access to the town centre. There are also plans to develop more public housing and parks around Caldecott MRT Station when it is upgraded to an interchange station along the upcoming Thomson-East Coast Line.

More recreational spaces will be created along the Woodlands waterfront and the entire waterfront stretch will be opened to the public.

Residents in Pasir Ris can look forward to redeveloped neighbourhood centres and parks that will feature family-centred facilities.

The HDB will be gathering feedback from residents and community stakeholders to refine these plans, Mr Lee told Parliament during the National Development Ministry’s Committee of Supply debate.

He added that following a successful pilot of the HDB Greenprint in Yuhua, another precinct will be selected for the programme, which aims to promote sustainable and eco-friendly living in existing HDB estates.

The ROH programme is aimed at breathing new life into young and mature estates. Six towns have been lined up for revitalisation since its launch in 2007 — Punggol, Yishun, Dawson, East Coast, Hougang and Jurong Lake.

Addressing Jurong GRC Member of Parliament Ang Wei Neng’s concern that only a handful of neighbourhood centres have been able to tap the Revitalisation of Shops scheme — introduced in 2007 to enhance the competitiveness of HDB shops — Mr Lee announced that a new committee will be set up to fine-tune the scheme.

So far, about S$8.4 million has been disbursed under the scheme, and one in two HDB shops have benefited from it, Mr Lee said. KELLY NG