Mount Vernon Columbarium is set to make way for the Bidadari estate, which will comprise HDB flats and private homes.
Despite receiving lease extensions for the second time, funeral parlours at the Mount Vernon Columbarium Complex remain anxious about the future of their operations, reported TODAYonline.
“It’s like living day-to-day, or year-to-year in this case. It gets a little nail-biting and customers are always asking us whether we’ll still be here,” said Deborah Andres, CEO of Mount Vernon Sanctuary, which owns six halls for wakes.
“It’s a question that we can’t answer because the answer is not with us. We can’t assure them and they feel a little bit lost,” she added.
The government granted the first round of lease extension in 2014. Singapore Casket, which owns Mount Vernon Parlour 1 and 2, saw their lease extended from 20 December 2016 to next December.
The lease for Mount Vernon Sanctuary, on the other hand, was extended from 14 March 2017 to March 2018.
Mount Vernon Columbarium is set to make way for the Bidadari estate, which will comprise 10,000 units of HDB flats and 1,000 private homes. A new and modern parlour will be well-integrated with the topography and landscape of Bidadari to minimise the visual impact on nearby residential buildings, said the authorities.
The National Environment Agency (NEA) revealed that as of last month, more than 12,000 of the 20,000 niches at the columbarium blocks have been claimed.
The niches, which will be relocated to Mandai Columbarium, can be claimed by next-of-kin until 30 June 2017.
While it did not provide details on when the relocation would occur, the NEA said it will continue the leases for the funeral parlours until the columbarium blocks and parlours have to be cleared.
Romesh Navaratnarajah, Senior Editor at PropertyGuru, edited this story. To contact him about this or other stories, email romesh@propertyguru.com.sg
