Serangoon Garden, Jalan Kayu, Holland Village to be preserved

SINGAPORE — It is one of the oldest estates around and was once known as Ang Sar Lee (Red Roof in Hokkien) for the red zinc roofs in the neighbourhood. Now, the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) is drawing up plans to help preserve the identity of Serangoon Garden and the low-rise nature of the estate, and retain its iconic roundabout. Close to the famous Chomp Chomp Food Centre, Serangoon Garden Circus connects Serangoon Garden Way to Kensington Park Road and Chartwell Drive.

The estate, along with Jalan Kayu and Holland Village, is being added to the URA’s list of identity nodes that have been earmarked for preservation, in view of their strong and distinctive identities that resonate with Singaporeans. Their proposed inclusion was announced today by the URA at the unveiling of its draft Master Plan.

The layout of the Serangoon Garden estate, coupled with its popularity as a food haunt, has led to parking woes and worsening traffic bottlenecks. This prompted the authorities to institute a restaurant ban last year, so that shophouses could no longer be converted into eateries.

To further preserve the character of the estate, the URA aims to draw up guidelines for the urban design of the vicinity and ensure new developments will fit in with Serangoon Garden’s character and charm.

Jalan Kayu — another popular destination for foodies, especially roti prata lovers — has also been designated as an identity node. Some enhancements the URA has in mind for this laid-back estate include improvements to its pavements, lush planting and improved connectivity to its nearest LRT station, Thanggam, along the Sengkang LRT line.

The third identity node, Holland Village, will be extended to include new public spaces and mixed-use developments. Popular for its eateries and cafes, Holland Village will have a new extension that will retain its “urban village” feel and pedestrian links to connect the streets to the town centre.

The three areas join a list of 15 areas, including Thomson Village, Pulau Ubin and Tanjong Katong, which were designated as Singapore’s Identity Nodes in URA’s Identity Plan in 2002. About 70 buildings — including places of worship, warehouses and notable buildings, such as Alexandra Hospital, Queenstown Library and the former field assistant’s house at the Singapore Botanic Gardens — have also been gazetted for conservation under the latest Master Plan, which will be finalised next year. About 7,100 heritage buildings have been conserved by the URA over the past 23 years.