HDB rejects proposal for alternative site for Toh Yi studio apartments
The Housing and Development Board's (HDB) rejection of a proposal by Toh Yi residents for an alternative site for studio apartments has left some residents upset.
HDB plans to go ahead with initial plans of building a block of 130 units of studio apartments at Toh Yi Drive catered for the elderly, despite a petition and proposal for an alternative site submitted by a group of residents.
"In the case of Toh Yi, HDB has looked into the various feedback and made adjustments to the proposals to address residents' concerns, wherever feasible," said HDB in a statement on Monday.
About 230 Toh Yi residents signed a petition earlier this month to Holland-Bukit Timah MP Sim Ann, opposing the government's plan to build the apartments because the identified site was the 19-block estate's only green space and it was situated on a slope that would make it difficult for elderly tenants to climb.
Addressing the residents' proposal for an alternative site, HDB said that it has "carried out a detailed evaluation and assessed this [HDB's original plan to build at Toh Yi Drive] as the most suitable site available in the vicinity for studio apartments".
According to HDB, the four alternative sites proposed were unsuitable as they were too small, were exposed to heavy traffic or impinged on car parking demands. Others have already been earmarked for future developments.
In addition, HDB will include common facilities within the site, such as a community garden, playground and fitness stations. It has also pledged to improve the accessibility of the area "with elderly residents in mind".
However, the petition organiser Ricky Goh Chok Chai expressed his unhappiness with MP Sim Ann's handling of the matter.
In an email cc-ed to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan and the three other Holland-Bukit Timah MPs Christopher De Souza, Liang Eng Hwa and Vivian Balakrishnan, the 58-year-old businessman wrote that the residents involved would "manage [their] own housekeeping from now on and probably have to look into forming our own 'management committee' to deal directly with HDB for the internal affair of the estate of Toh Yi".
He revealed the presence of a "shadow committee" in place, called the Concerned Residents' Caring Community Committee (CRCCC), and commented that the other MPs of the GRC seemed "bochap" (unconcerned) about the matter.
Speaking to Yahoo! Singapore, Sim said: "Most residents I have spoken to told me they do not object to having studio apartments in the estate. Many welcome the idea, in fact. After all, we will all grow old. The key question has always been about the site. A minority of residents have voiced objections because of the site."
However, she added that HDB's verdict was a "reasonable outcome that addresses the overall interests of residents in [the] estate".
"HDB has evaluated the very considerable amount of feedback we had submitted. It has explained its reasons for the choice of site. It has promised to incorporate community facilities into the studio apartment project and also help improve amenities elsewhere within the estate," said the MP.
The petition and proposal submitted by Goh's group has also irked around 50 residents in Toh Yi, who have submitted another petition to have the units built elsewhere.
Related stories:
Elderly are welcome but HDB site not right: Toh Yi residents
Toh Yi residents propose alternative site
Toh Yi residents propose new site for elderly studios
