Guidelines for Restaurants

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Restaurants and eating houses can be permitted within buildings zoned "Commercial" (e.g. shopping complexes) and buildings zoned "Commercial / Residential" or "Residential with Commercial at 1st storey only". However, restaurants which are located in shophouses could create parking and traffic problems and adversely affect the amenity of the surrounding residents since most existing shophouses do not have their own car parking provision. As such, proposed restaurants can only be approved if there is sufficient car parking provision in the area.

In shophouse areas which are currently facing traffic problems due to the presence of eating houses or where a number of complaints on disamenties caused by the eating houses have been received, no new eating house will be approved so as not to worsen the situation. The shophouse areas currently facing traffic problems are listed in Appendix A. We will review this list of traffic "problematic" areas with LTA on a regular basis to take into account any change in the uses within the streetblock and the traffic conditions in the area.

Proposals for eating houses in shophouses that are located outside the locations in Appendix A can be allowed provided the subject premises is zoned Commercial, Commercial & Residential and Residential with 1st-storey Commercial in the Master Plan 2003. For such eating house proposals, no prior clearance from LTA is required when submitting a change of use application to URA for approval.

The approval for eating houses, if granted, will be on a 3-year temporary permission (TP) subject to a condition that the use does not cause any amenity problems. The eating house activities are to be confined within the shop unit. The applicant is required to submit a letter of undertaking (LOU) (see sample) to ensure that the eating house activities will not spill over outside the premises such as the covered/open walkway and backlane. The applicant is to comply with the requirements of LTA, NEA and FSSD separately.

Existing eating houses on TP would be allowed to have the TP renewed as long as there are no complaints received against the use and there is no breach of planning conditions. Otherwise, the TP will not be renewed and the eating house has to cease operation.

In areas where there could be traffic and disamenity problems, URA will grant a 1-year TP if the Management Corporation (for shophouses which form part of a strata-titled development) or the Managing Agent (MA) (for a development that comes under the management of an MA) strongly supports the eating houses within the areas they are responsible for. The yearly TP will be subject to an undertaking that the MC or MA will deal with all subsequent complaints arising from the eating houses.