Former Big Splash site redeveloped into play area with 16m-high tower

SINGAPORE — The former Big Splash site at East Coast Park has been converted into a 4.5ha development that houses an outdoor play area, a water play area as well as a nature garden.

Called Coastal PlayGrove, this new development was launched by Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong, National Development Minister Desmond Lee and Member of Parliament for Mountbatten ward Lim Biow Chuan on Sunday (March 28), four years after the former iconic water theme park was closed for redevelopment.

Facilities at the newly opened Coastal PlayGrove include:

• A 16m-high play tower, which features a vertical net play area and slides. It is the tallest outdoor play feature in Singapore

• A water play area with wading pools

• A nature playgarden

• An outdoor classroom

The play tower and water play area is open from Tuesday to Sunday, 8am to 8pm.

At a media briefing on Sunday, Mr Tan Jun Chao, the director of parks at the National Parks Board (NParks), said that there will be capacity limits set on the vertical net play area in the tower as it is an enclosed space, in line with current safe management measures to curb the spread of Covid-19.

The vertical net play area will be limited to a maximum of 20 people at each level and it will be temporarily closed when the cap is reached.

The opening of Coastal PlayGrove marks the completion of three redevelopment projects at East Coast Park costing about S$25 million since it began in 2017.

The other two redeveloped sites are Raintree Cove and the Cyclist Park — both of which opened in 2019.

Coastal PlayGrove was supposed to open in 2019, but this was delayed.

When asked for the reasons for the delay, Mr Tan said that they wanted to spend more time designing the area and researching on the historical context of the former Big Splash site, given that it holds a lot of memories.

He added that the pandemic had hampered the completion of the project.

NParks also said that it is planning to create a 15km nature trail running through the entire length of East Coast Park over the next 10 years. The trail will run from Gardens by the Bay East towards Changi.

When asked how a nature trail could be created in East Coast Park given that it is highly developed, Mr Tan said that NParks intends to modify East Coast Park’s landscape over time, and create new trails where possible for users to be closer to nature.

“We do recognise that it will not be the same as what we have at our nature parks. It will be a different experience that is curated within this urban coastal park setting,” he said.