kurakura
February 25th, 2008, 11:05 AM
:ohno:
ONE of Singapore's last remaining woodlands will give way to Housing Board flats, despite pleas from over 1,300 Singaporean who are against the move.
The Housing Board has given the green light to clear about a third of the Sungei Ulu Pandan woodlands for five new blocks in the area - a development that has left residents in the area worried.
In a bid to save the trees there from the axe, the 1,300 signed a petition calling for the development to be relocated.
Addressed to the Prime Minister and signed by people from all walks of life - from students, retirees, to architects and scientists - the petition appeals for the estate's little bit of nature to be saved.
'We truly value the presence and continued existence of this little remaining woodland,' it said. 'The destruction of the woodland will be a great loss to our community and the nation.'
The area was earmarked for redevelopment in 2006 when the HDB announced plans to build over 1,000 two to five-room flats, to replace the old blocks in the area that are over 30 years.
'We agree that new flats are needed,' said Dr Kennedy Chew, one of the coordinators of the petition.
'But we are hoping that the government will consider shifting the development to somewhere else nearby instead,' said the IT researcher who has been living in the area for almost 12 years.
Tucked away next to Commonwealth Avenue West, the emerald site provides an important haven for residents and birds.
Among the feathered residents putting up in the trees - some almost 40 years old - a pair of rare hawkeagles, said Dr Ho Hua Chew, chairman of the Nature Society conservation committee. The society did a study of the area early last year.
'Less than 10 nesting sites have been recorded over the past decade,' said Dr Ho. 'The woodland provides a home for birds that would have otherwise been displaced in this urban jungle.'
The HDB has confirmed that it is going ahead with the project. Construction work began in January.
ONE of Singapore's last remaining woodlands will give way to Housing Board flats, despite pleas from over 1,300 Singaporean who are against the move.
The Housing Board has given the green light to clear about a third of the Sungei Ulu Pandan woodlands for five new blocks in the area - a development that has left residents in the area worried.
In a bid to save the trees there from the axe, the 1,300 signed a petition calling for the development to be relocated.
Addressed to the Prime Minister and signed by people from all walks of life - from students, retirees, to architects and scientists - the petition appeals for the estate's little bit of nature to be saved.
'We truly value the presence and continued existence of this little remaining woodland,' it said. 'The destruction of the woodland will be a great loss to our community and the nation.'
The area was earmarked for redevelopment in 2006 when the HDB announced plans to build over 1,000 two to five-room flats, to replace the old blocks in the area that are over 30 years.
'We agree that new flats are needed,' said Dr Kennedy Chew, one of the coordinators of the petition.
'But we are hoping that the government will consider shifting the development to somewhere else nearby instead,' said the IT researcher who has been living in the area for almost 12 years.
Tucked away next to Commonwealth Avenue West, the emerald site provides an important haven for residents and birds.
Among the feathered residents putting up in the trees - some almost 40 years old - a pair of rare hawkeagles, said Dr Ho Hua Chew, chairman of the Nature Society conservation committee. The society did a study of the area early last year.
'Less than 10 nesting sites have been recorded over the past decade,' said Dr Ho. 'The woodland provides a home for birds that would have otherwise been displaced in this urban jungle.'
The HDB has confirmed that it is going ahead with the project. Construction work began in January.