The Place Management Coordinating Forum (PMCF) is an inter-agency group established in 2009 comprising the National Arts Council, National Heritage Board, Singapore Tourism Board, Urban Redevelopment Authority, National Parks Board and Sports Singapore. The PMCF champions place management efforts in Singapore to create vibrant and sustainable precincts; and fosters close partnerships between the public and private sectors through the sharing of information and capability development.
The Place Management Coordinating Forum (PMCF) conferred the Place Champion Award 2015 on Mr Wilson Tan, Chairman of Singapore River One today, in recognition of his efforts to bring vibrancy and footfall to the Singapore River precinct. Mr Lee Yi Shyan, Senior Minister of State for National Development presented the award to Mr Tan at the second Place Management Seminar this morning.
The annual Place Champion Award recognises private sector individuals who have made significant contributions to their respective precincts through place management and encourages other stakeholders to be more pro-active in place management.
Bringing Singapore River One to greater heights
A passionate advocate of the Singapore River and its rich history, Mr Wilson Tan believes in drawing on the River’s distinct assets to transform the precinct into a world class destination with programmes and activities that are uniquely Singapore. He has been instrumental in driving numerous initiatives and events to increase footfall and spending in the Singapore River precinct. Some of these include the Circular Road weekend car-free zone and the annual Christmas carnival “Christmas by the River”. These initiatives have increased footfall to the precinct by about 15 per cent from 2013 to 2014, while Circular Road has seen a 45 per cent increase in footfall since it became a weekend car-free zone in November 2013. Mr Tan has also galvanised stakeholders along the Boat Quay promenade to partner the Urban Redevelopment Authority in enhancing the outdoor refreshment area along the Singapore River.
Under his stewardship, SRO’s membership base has grown five-fold in three years to 65 members and they have garnered more sponsorship and grants. This has enabled them to be more self-sufficient in carrying out projects to benefit stakeholders. See Annex A [PDF, 81kb] for Mr Tan’s profile and SRO’s achievements.
Mr Ng Lang, Chief Executive Officer, URA and Chairman of the PMCF, said, “Mr Tan’s passion to transform the Singapore River precinct into a unique destination is evident in the various initiatives he has driven. Although SRO is a fairly young association, it has demonstrated its capabilities to lead stakeholders to boost the attractiveness and competitiveness of the precinct. We hope SRO will continue their good work and inspire more precincts to implement innovative ideas that will benefit their precincts.”
Sharing experiences on formalising place management
Now into its second run, the Place Management Seminar also featured two place management veterans – Mr Mo Aswat, Director of Mosaic Partnership, United Kingdom, and Mr Richard Guiney, CEO of We are DublinTown, Ireland. They shared their experience and knowledge on place management to more than 150 stakeholders from the public and private sectors engaged in place management, such as precinct associations, landlords and business operators.
Mr Mo Aswat shared his experience in developing the UK’s national Business Improvement District (BID) legislation – a formal model of place management that empowers stakeholders to come together to improve their precincts through long-term business plans – as well as the UK BID Pilot Programme. His international consultancy firm offers solutions to help private sector stakeholders and public sector leaders jointly develop strategies for town and city centre management. See Annex B [PDF, 137kb] for more information about Mr Aswat.
Mr Richard Guiney shared his experience managing the award-winning BID in the Dublin city centre that represents over 2,500 businesses. The BID was established by businesses to position the district as a destination for shopping, recreation and business development. He is also an established speaker and writer on place management issues. See Annex C [PDF, 65kb] for more information about Mr Guiney.
Place management is a proactive approach in managing a precinct with the aim of achieving positive outcomes such as greater footfall and spending. In Singapore, this is currently undertaken by precinct associations formed voluntarily by precinct stakeholders, such as SRO. See Annex D [JPEG, 1,637kb] for more information on place management and Annex E [PDF, 146kb] on the various precinct associations in Singapore.