Each self-sufficient town could have columbarium
I agree that it is the duty of the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) to plan for columbaria. (“Planning of columbarium locations is URA’s duty”; Jan 12)
I agree that it is the duty of the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) to plan for columbaria. (“Planning of columbarium locations is URA’s duty”; Jan 12)
However, there are not many places such as Lim Chu Kang. And less populated areas may one day be redeveloped.
The provision of columbarium services in places of worship is not uncommon. It is also aligned with the planning of common places of worship.
In a modern city, each town would be self-sufficient, with facilities on one’s doorstep, including a resting place for our loved ones.
The right thing to do is to have guidelines for such developments in the heartlands so that columbaria are designed cleverly — with height and sound restrictions or a roof garden — or sited in the basement of worship places, with no cremation services. It may also be right to work out an inconvenience fee or subsidy for residents who have bought homes in the vicinity before the release of new URA plans.
But with Singapore’s limited land, it would be no surprise anymore to have one-stop facilities in a community.