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Elderly are welcome but HDB site not right: Toh Yi residents

Residents at Toh Yi Drive estates say they welcome elderly in their neighborhood but that they are concerned that the location the Housing Development Board (HDB) has chosen to build 130 units of studios for the elderly would not be appropriate for such tenants.

“We welcome the old people. We’re not so heartless,” Davy Nah, a 41-year-old sales manager, told Yahoo! Singapore on Thursday, following reports that residents in the area have petitioned against the project on the basis that it is not only inauspicious, but will also devalue their property.

He explained that residents’ objections are instead based on the inappropriateness of the site for the aged given that basic amenities are far away. In addition, due to the steep terrain Toh Yi estates were built on, he said that it will be tough for elderly to even walk to the market or coffee shop.

Moreover, the area is the residents’ only recreational amenity shared among residents of landed property and the 19 block-estate, he said.

The residents’ protest over proposed facilities for the elderly is the second one to happen this week following some Woodlands residents’ petition against plans to set up elder care centres at void decks of blocks 860 and 861.

Toh Yi residents feel that since the news of their own petition to their own MP that they have been misjudged.

Wee Yeng, 36, homemaker, told Yahoo! Singapore, “We are not against the idea of an elderly studio apartment; we are concerned that this site is inappropriate. There’re so many other appropriate sites nearer to the MRT and basic amenities that is important for elderly because they are not that mobile. My question is why did HDB choose this site?”

Wee and Nah are only two of the approximately 230 residents who signed the petition that was submitted to Holland-Bukit Timah MP Ms Sim Ann Wednesday at their Meet-the-People’s Session.

Businessman and petition organiser Ricky Goh Chok Chai, 58, said that the construction of the basketball court and subsequently the garden in November 2010 at the junction between Toh Yi Road and Toh Yi Drive has “rekindled the kampong spirit” in their community. It was an initiative that he praised the former Holland-Bukit Timah MP Yu-Foo Yee Shoon for introducing as the move has been welcomed by all of the residents there.

“Everyone embraced the change, and this plan created that kind of bonding around,” said Goh who has lived in that estate area since 1998. He said that the undulating terrain itself made it tough for connectivity previously and tough for even the young to walk since it is uphill. It is estimated that from the main road to the site that HDB plans to build the facility, the height difference is about 11 meters which translates to approximately four storeys high. The straight uphill climb is estimated about 200 meters.

Being the estates’ only green area, a resident even planted his own vegetables and pandan leaves and invited all the residents to help themselves to the crop. Especially in the morning and evening time, adults are often spotted enjoying a slow walk or sitting at benches at the area enjoying the cool breeze and catching up with affairs of the community. Youths usually use the basketball court.

Some residents though said they do not mind one way or another if the studios are built on the site.

David Lim, a 52 retiree who lives in a landed property in the area says the area is probably bad location due to the uphill walk, but “if it’s for the benefit of the community, I really don’t mind.”

Speculations in the community before the plan was announced was that the site might have been used for a multi-story car park as many residents face a pressing shortage of car park lots in the area. “I thought it was going to be a multi-story carpark,” he added.

Undergraduate Chan Jing Hao, 23, raised another practical concern of cost. “Now there're upgrading works around the area, and after the facilities are built it might be more convenient for the elderly so studio apartments might not be that pragmatic. The cost will be quite high.”

The cost even at the market is so high that homemaker Wee revealed that she travels to Jurong every fortnight instead to do her groceries. “One kg of pork at Jurong costs $12, but one kg of pork at our market here costs $15. The price difference affects us a lot,” she said. But elderly cannot afford the luxury of doing mass grocery at other locations due to limited mobility.

Speaking to Yahoo!, MP Sim Ann pledges to work together with HDB to address the residents’ concerns. She said, "We will update residents when we have more information. I'm not presuming any particular outcome at this stage, but my approach is to take a holistic view of our estate's needs now and in the future, remain open to suggestions, and go for win-win."

HDB responded to Yahoo! Singapore’s queries explaining that their decision came forth because there are no studio apartments (SA) in the Bukit Timah estate yet. A spokesperson said, "From a needs analysis,
we expect the SAs to be well received by elderly residents in the Bukit Timah estate who wish to buy a SA and continue to live in a familiar environment."

Residents however question the needs analysis cited by HDB, saying that when HDB representatives spoke to them, they based the results on statistic comparison to places like Ang Mo Kio where the number of units of families are much more than that of their estate area.

HDB acknowledged their concerns, and pledged to introduce more facilities in the area "that will not just benefit the elderly residents, but also residents living in the neighbouring precincts". Examples are a new children's playground, an elderly fitness station, a community garden, and space for future social communal facilities. "These will be permanent features, unlike the temporary recreational facilities that were put in place in the interim," the spokesperson added.

Some residents also sought to clarify the suggested “not in our backyard” mentality. “That is the excuse MPs are using to dismiss residents’ concerns,” Goh said.

But associate professor Tan Ern Ser from National University of Singapore’s Sociology Department thinks that mentality is the reason. “It's a case of not in my backyard (NIMB), where space and property value are perceived to be negatively affected by having seniors facilities.”

He stressed the need for such facilities with Singapore’s rapidly ageing population. However, he does see a need for the government to change their approach when dealing with residents. Engagement is key, he said, especially in this post-General Elections 2011 period.