The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) announced the opening of the Draft Master Plan 2013 exhibition today. The key focus of the Draft Master Plan 2013 is to build townships for all ages that are green, healthy, connected, strong in community interaction and spirit, and to bring quality jobs closer to home.
The Draft Master Plan 2013 aims to make Singapore a better home for our people through:
Singaporeans will continue to enjoy a good quality living environment in new housing areas at Bidadari, Tampines North and Punggol. Established towns such as Sembawang, Yishun, Hougang, and Choa Chu Kang will be rejuvenated with new homes, providing more options for those who prefer to live near their families for mutual care.
A range of housing types will be provided in new and existing estates. Every new and existing town will boast a quality living environment, with green and community spaces for residents to relax and interact. Walkability and cycling routes will be key features, alongside a good distribution of amenities.
The housing concepts at Marina South and Kampong Bugis will be fenceless, green housing developments to encourage community interaction. These features will provide a conducive environment for pedestrians and cyclists.
Refer to Annex 1 for more details on plans to create a quality living environment.
Providing good and diverse jobs for Singaporeans will strengthen Singapore’s status as a global financial and business hub. The Draft Master Plan 2013 will set aside sufficient land to grow our diversified economy and bring jobs closer to home.
To enable Singaporeans to work closer to home, reduce commuting time and ease congestion during peak hours, we will continue to grow regional employment centres such as Jurong Lake District, Tampines Regional Centre, and Paya Lebar Central. New growth areas across the entire stretch of the North Coast Innovation Corridor will begin to take shape with the Woodlands Regional Centre and the Punggol Learning Corridor and Creative Cluster. New industrial sites at CleanTech Park, Wenya, Jurong West and Tuas in the west, and Seletar West and Lorong Halus in the north-east, will offer new job opportunities.
We will also continue to grow the Central Business District and Marina Bay, the heart of our business and financial sector. Within the city centre, a new retail and entertainment spine at Bayfront Avenue will be created, bringing additional job opportunities and more buzz to the Bay.
Refer to Annex 2 for more details on new growth centres, including the Woodlands Regional Centre.
In the Draft Master Plan 2013, green spaces such as nature areas and parks will be expanded to provide a lush living environment. The expansion of the park connector network, Round Island Route and Rail Corridor will make it easier to access these spaces. The plan makes provision for greenery such that around 90% of our residents will live within 400 m of a park.
Eco-corridors are also planned to provide links between habitats and encourage biodiversity. The Eco-Link@BKE above the Bukit Timah Expressway will re-establish links for animals between the Bukit Timah and Central Catchment Nature Reserves. A similar link is being planned at the future Tengah town to connect the Western Water Catchment and the Bukit Timah and Central Catchment Nature Reserves. NParks will be introducing more than 60 km of nature ways by 2015.
Greenery will also extend vertically through skyrise and rooftop gardens and will be integrated with other community uses. For instance, a study is underway to enlarge Toa Payoh Town Park and integrate it with a new regional library and sports facilities. Likewise, the Sembawang Community Hub will be set within a hill park with the former Admiralty House.
Singapore enjoys an extensive water supply network comprising 8,000 km of waterways and 17 reservoirs. To realise the full potential of this water infrastructure, PUB’s Active, Beautiful, Clean Waters (ABC) Programme will create attractive recreational spaces; 900 ha of reservoirs and 100 km of waterways will be progressively opened up to Singaporeans to enjoy.
For healthier communities, there will be various tiers of sports facilities to cater to different sporting activities at the national, regional, town and neighbourhood levels. There will be at least one sports and recreational facility in every town. At the neighbourhood level, Singaporeans will enjoy the introduction of more sporting facilities and use of more school fields.
At the heart of the city, Marina Bay will continue to be the people’s bay providing exciting water activities all year round.
Refer to Annex 3 for more information on recreational spaces and activities for all.
Places that are meaningful to Singaporeans will be conserved where possible while new spaces will be created for the community to forge new ties.
To safeguard our built heritage, over 70 buildings will be conserved as part of the Master Plan, adding to the over 7,100 buildings that have already been protected. These include the Queenstown Library, Alexandra Hospital, the former Commonwealth Avenue Wet Market, and selected bungalows and former military buildings in Seletar.
In recognition of their unique charm and appeal to the community, Holland Village, Jalan Kayu and Serangoon Garden will be designated as identity nodes.
Community spaces like town plazas, hawker centres and parks are where our communities gather. We are planning more such community spaces at Punggol, Bedok and Yishun. Through these shared spaces, collective memories are made, creating a sense of home and who we are as a people. More community spaces will be added.
Increasingly, residents will also begin to enjoy convenient one-stop hubs which bring together different community facilities under one roof. Integrated developments such as the one at Woodlands and the Tampines Town Hub will create a strong sense of familiarity and identity.
Other than retail, medical, childcare facilities and a hawker centre, the integrated development at Woodlands will have two blocks of studio apartments with a senior activity centre for the elderly, to enable residents to age-in-place and enjoy mutual support. Common spaces like a community farm and herb garden, a large plaza and landscaped sky decks will rally residents and strengthen kampong spirit.
Residents at Jurong, Toa Payoh and Bedok will also be able to learn about the local identity and heritage of their estates through new heritage trails.
Refer to Annex 4 for more information on plans to make Singapore a more endearing home.
Singaporeans can look forward to a more people-centric land transport system under the Land Transport Master Plan 2013. We will place greater emphasis on making public transport an attractive mode of transport while reducing reliance on private transport.
The rail network will be doubled from the current 178km to around 360km by 2030. More trains and buses and increased frequencies will improve the overall public transport capacity. To provide a more seamless experience and convenience, we will build seven new integrated transport hubs linking bus interchanges with MRT stations and commercial developments, as well as a network of covered walkways to transport nodes, over the next 10 years. More hubs are being planned.
Besides public transport, we will develop a cyclist-friendly, safe and well-connected network of cycling paths under the National Cycling Plan. The National Cycling Plan will grow the network from 230 km to over 700 km of cycling routes island-wide, with all HDB towns having their own intra-town networks. Cycling paths for recreational and short commuting purposes will be integrated into the cycling network.
To create a cycling-friendly environment, various supporting facilities will be put in place:
To develop a safe cycling culture and harmonious use of common spaces, we will also place emphasis on educational programmes and a cycling code of conduct will be developed.
As many of the cycling routes are still under study, we welcome the public’s feedback to improve them.
Public spaces like parks, open plazas or shaded atriums, can enhance our living environment, strengthen social identity and offer opportunities for community bonding. The public will be invited to help shape our public spaces through various programmes. More details on these programmes will be announced later.
The relocation of the City Terminals by 2027 and Pasir Panjang Terminal thereafter will free up 1,000 ha of land for future development. The Greater Southern Waterfront is envisioned to be a seamless extension of the city and will open up new live-work-play opportunities.
Preliminary conceptual plans for the new area include:
The plan for the Greater Southern Waterfront is a large scale endeavour and will be worked out over the coming years. We welcome ideas for this new waterfront area.
Through 26 planning area brochures on the Draft Master Plan 2013 website, residents will have a broad indicative idea of new developments in their neighbourhoods over the next five years. These may include parks, public transport facilities, housing and amenities, and employment centres.
The Draft Master Plan 2013 will also exhibit plans for the five regions – North, North-East, East, Central, and West. The plans for each area have capitalised on the unique characteristics and opportunities available to each region.
Refer to Annex 5 for the highlights of each region.
Over the past five years, URA has received and actively sought feedback on our plans from the public through various channels. Recently, we carried out consultation meetings with Members of Parliament and key grassroot leaders from various constituencies. We also conducted focus group discussions on topics such as greenery, cycling and the Woodlands Regional Centre.
The feedback and ideas garnered from these sessions have helped to refine and improve our review of the Master Plan.
The Draft Master Plan 2013 exhibition is held at The URA Centre, ground floor atrium, 45 Maxwell Road from 20 November 2013 to 19 December 2013.
Opening hours are: Monday to Friday - 8.30am to 6.30pm; Saturday - 9.00am to 5.00pm; closed on Sundays and public holidays. Admission is free. The Draft Master Plan 2013 and key highlights are also available for viewing at the following website - http://www.ura.gov.sg/MS/DMP2013.* (*Afternote: The Master Plan has been gazetted. Please visit http://ow.ly/xGJ4F to view Master Plan 2014.)
The public can provide their feedback on the Draft Master Plan 2013 and proposals for new cycling routes and the Greater Southern Waterfront through the Draft Master Plan 2013 website. Any objection to or representation concerning any of the proposals for amendment to the Master Plan must be submitted in writing to the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of National Development, 5 Maxwell Road, Singapore 069110 no later than 19 December 2013.
Given Singapore’s limited land and growing needs, an integrated, comprehensive and long-term approach in land use planning is needed to optimise the use of Singapore’s limited space, to meet the current and future needs of our people.
The Master Plan is the statutory land use plan which guides Singapore’s development in the medium term. Reviewed every five years, it shows the permissible land use and density for every parcel of land in Singapore.
Developed as an inter-agency effort, the Master Plan features a comprehensive and integrated planning approach that ensures our social and economic needs are met, while maintaining a liveable and sustainable environment. Through the Master Plan, sufficient land is safeguarded to meet land use needs over the medium term. This includes all land uses such as residential, industry, parks and supporting amenities. The actual pace at which development will take place is dependent on global circumstances and market demand.
In reviewing the Master Plan, we balance all major land needs in collaboration with relevant government agencies. We also take into account public feedback gathered through our engagement process before finalising the plans.