Speech by Minister Desmond Lee at The Launch of The Bukit Timah Turf City Exhibition
May 23, 2024
A very good morning and thank you for joining me here today.
The exhibition that we are about to launch sets out our draft plans for Bukit Timah Turf City. It will open for 2 months. During this time, we would like to invite you to look at these draft plans and share with us your feedback as well as your ideas.
We envisage Bukit Timah Turf City to be an inclusive and highly accessible estate. There will be approximately 15,000 to 20,000 homes, which will be launched progressively over the next 20 to 30 years. This will be a mix of both public as well as private housing.
Notably, this will be the first time in almost 40 years where public housing is planned in Bukit Timah. This is to meet the growing aspirations among Singaporeans to live closer to their workplaces in the city. We heard this clearly during the recent Long-Term Plan Review where we engaged thousands of Singaporeans. Today, let me share with you our broad redevelopment plans for Bukit Timah Turf City, taking into account the heritage as well as ecological considerations of the site.
Developing sensitively to integrate heritage and nature
Some of us may remember Bukit Timah Turf City as a popular horse racing venue. This 176-hectare site was Singapore’s second racecourse from 1933 to 1999. In 1999, Singapore Turf Club relocated to Kranji to ease traffic congestion in the area. The land was also safeguarded for future uses.
Since 1998, the site has been largely zoned under our Masterplan for residential use, to cater to future housing needs. In the interim, it was leased out for lifestyle and recreational uses until the end of last year, end-2023.
We recognise the heritage and ecological value of Bukit Timah Turf City and will redevelop it sensitively to balance the need for housing and other amenities, while retaining our natural and heritage assets.
This is why we carried out a Heritage Impact Assessment or HIA, as well as an Environmental Impact Assessment or EIA, to comprehensively study the site, in consultation with heritage and nature groups respectively.
These studies have guided our draft plans, ensuring that we safeguard the most significant natural and heritage elements, as well as mitigate the potential impact of the future developments.
Let me start with the findings of the Heritage Impact Assessment.
In the report, there is a recommendation that we should consider retaining significant buildings and repurposing them for other suitable uses. At the same time, sensitive urban design strategies and heritage interpretation measures should be integrated into future developments. These measures seek to highlight the architectural and social significance of its buildings and landscapes, and recall the site’s equestrian history.
To respond to these recommendations, we plan to adopt the following three measures:
First, we will carry out a study to retain and adaptively reuse five clusters, comprising 27 heritage buildings and structures, which represent different facets of the former Turf Club’s history. This includes the distinctive North Grandstand.
Second, we will continue to actively document the heritage of the site and explore ways to tell its stories to current and future generations of Singaporeans.
Third, a new open space in front of the Grandstands will reference the geometry of the historic racetracks. This new oval will be the centrepiece of the estate, twice the size of the Padang and will be surrounded by civic and community amenities to serve existing and future residents of this area.
We will need to name the new oval, the new estate, and the future neighbourhoods and public spaces, and we invite you to send in your suggestions.
Let me now turn to the environmental front. The Environmental Impact Assessment, or EIA that we conducted, found 177 plant species and 25 animal species of conservation significance and patches of diverse native-dominated secondary forest.
In particular, two existing forested areas – namely the Eng Neo Avenue Forest and Bukit Tinggi – contain a high level of biodiversity. To protect the natural capital and biodiversity in these two forested areas, we will retain most of them, and study how they can be integrated into our future park network.
We will also have lush planting on the northern boundary of the site to improve ecological connectivity between Eng Neo Avenue Forest and Bukit Tinggi.
In total, about one-third of the Bukit Timah Turf City estate will be set aside for green spaces, comprising parks, open spaces as well as natural greenery.
Shaping an Inclusive and Endearing Estate
Let me now turn to the plans for the residential estate that will be launched in Bukit Timah Turf City.
In planning this future estate, we wanted to enhance the living environment, not just for the future residents who will move into the area over time, but also for the existing residents who are living around the area.
For example, in our engagements with residents living nearby, many have shared that they look forward to increased connectivity and more amenities such as retail and community uses, which the new estate will contain.
We are therefore going to do the following.
First, we are planning to make Bukit Timah Turf City a pedestrian-friendly, car-lite estate.
The upcoming MRT station on the Cross Island Line will be completed in 2032, complementing the existing Sixth Avenue MRT Station on the Downtown Line. This will provide residents seamless connectivity to other parts of our island.
A comprehensive pedestrian and cycling network will facilitate convenient access to key amenities and public transport nodes such as MRT stations.
This will be supplemented by bus services, which will also facilitate access to MRT stations and major activity nodes.
Second, we are also studying the introduction of amenities that serve the social and physical wellbeing of the community, as the estate develops over the years.
As part of planning for “10-minute neighbourhoods”, most amenities such as commercial, community and recreational facilities, and parks will be within a 10-minute walk for future residents.
These amenities will also be located close to the MRT station to maximise convenience for all, including for existing residents who live nearby.
We will share more details on these amenities at a later stage, after considering public feedback on the development plans.
Third, we want to create a more people-centric environment in Bukit Timah Turf City. New public spaces will be designed to recall the unique character of Turf City, while facilitating community bonding.
For example, the proposed Racecourse neighbourhood will be a key community hub within the estate, anchored by the historic grandstands and the new oval. Residents can also look forward to a variety of recreational spaces and sports facilities.
We have considered feedback from residents living nearby during our engagements and will ensure that the estate is sensitively developed, with regard to the surrounding residential areas.
A key concern shared by residents was traffic. Traffic impact assessment studies are being carried out and road improvement works will be implemented to ensure that the surrounding road network, such as Eng Neo Avenue, can accommodate the anticipated traffic from the future developments.
We also received feedback about the potential height of the proposed new developments. Building heights will be kept lower where they are closer to key heritage buildings, green spaces as well as existing low-rise housing areas, while those more centrally located and nearer the MRT stations will be built higher to optimise land while enabling more people to enjoy the convenience of living close to key transport nodes.
Conclusion: Stewarding our Land Resources to Meet Diverse Aspirations
Let me conclude by making some broad points about our approach to land-use planning. That will frame all that we’ve been doing, all our plans so far, and the plans you see today.
Singapore is a really small island city-state. Within our 734 square kilometres we will need to provide for all the things that a fully functioning country requires. At the same time, we need to meet the growing needs and aspirations of Singaporeans, who are becoming more diverse. We also want to provide space and opportunity for future generations to chart their own direction too. All of this requires us to take part in forward thinking, long term planning and careful stewardship of our limited land.
As our land pressures intensify necessitating more trade-offs, we need to explore more varied approaches to land use, such as rejuvenating existing developments and redeveloping brownfield sites. Our draft plans for Bukit Timah Turf City are one example of this approach, to ensure that we continue to have a good quality living environment that is inclusive and accessible for Singaporeans.
So please encourage your family and friends to visit this exhibition, and please share your views on the Draft Master Plan 2025 with us.
We will study your ideas and suggestions, and work with our agencies to refine our plans. This will guide the development of Bukit Timah Turf City in the coming years and decades ahead. Thank you.