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Pulau Ubin to stay rustic for ‘as long as possible’

SINGAPORE — The Singapore Land Authority (SLA) and Housing and Development Board (HDB) today apologised for the confusion over a notice served to 22 households on Pulau Ubin last month, which was read to be an eviction notice, and said that residents can stay but will have to pay a subsidised rent.

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SINGAPORE — The Singapore Land Authority (SLA) and Housing and Development Board (HDB) today apologised for the confusion over a notice served to 22 households on Pulau Ubin last month, which was read to be an eviction notice, and said that residents can stay but will have to pay a subsidised rent.

A Notice of Census Survey issued last month had said that these homes are slated for “clearance” and referred “resettlement” benefits and the development of an “adventure park” on the island.

The SLA and HDB said in a joint statement that the notice referred to an old 1993 scheme under which the state acquired land on Pulau Ubin to build recreational facilities and expand the grounds of the Outward Bound School.

“We acknowledge that the notification could have been more carefully worded and the language updated to reflect the eventual development. We apologise for the anxiety caused to the residents involved,” the joint statement read.

The SLA and HDB also reiterated the planning intention is to keep Pulau Ubin in its rustic state “for as long as possible, to serve as an outdoor playground for Singaporeans”.

Pulau Ubin’s residents will now have to pay a monthly rent of between S$6 and S$35, with an estimated 90 per cent of households paying less than S$20 a month.

The rental will increase gradually over the next five years to market rates, expected to be between S$31 and S$205 from the sixth year onwards, with nine out of 10 households paying less than S$120 a month. WOO SIAN BOON

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