A group of residents living near a forested hill in Punggol are urging the government to stop plans for a proposed road that would harm Punggol Waterway’s last natural feature, reported The Straits Times.
But a spokesman for the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) said the road, which will serve planned developments around the small hill, would provide Punggol residents with “greater connectivity and access”.
Nestled in a 500m by 100m green space, the knoll is sited between Punggol Waterway (pictured) and the Punggol 17th Avenue estate.
“The forested knoll provides the waterway with its best view and its most scenic backdrop,” said retiree Tan See Ting who has lived in the area for 15 years.
In February 2008, Tan together with a group of neighbours met with then-MP Charles Chong to appeal the proposals for a road and a parallel trunk road between Punggol Waterway and their estate. But their appeal was denied.
Most recently, after submitting a petition with more than 80 signatures in November 2011, the group met with their MP, Dr Janil Puthucheary, as well as representatives from the HDB, URA, National Parks Board and Land Transport Authority.
According to Lee Nyuk Sze, Director of an import-export company, the group is concerned that it might be too late if they wait for the next land use masterplan to be published.
He noted that the residents would have sufficient transport links once the area is served by LRT trains.
Commenting on the residents’ feedback, a URA spokesman revealed that the land use plan “is being reviewed and will be exhibited as part of the next masterplan review”.
Image Source: National Parks Board
Romesh Navaratnarajah, Senior Editor of PropertyGuru, wrote this story. To contact him about this or other stories email romesh@propertyguru.com.sg
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