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Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA)
Circulars

Clarification on Conversion of Surplus Car Parking Spaces

Tags

Development Control

Urban Planning and Design

7 February 2025

Circular No : URA/PB/2025/03-CUDG, LTA/DBC/F20.033.005

Our Ref : DC/ADMIN/CIRCULAR/PB_25

CIRCULAR TO PROFESSIONAL INSTITUTES

Who Should Know:
Building Owners, Developers, Qualified Persons

Effective Date:
07 February 2025 to 06 February 2030

  1. This circular seeks to clarify the allowable uses and the treatment of additional gross floor area (GFA) arising from the conversion of surplus car parking spaces1 in excess of the lower bound parking standard in designated areas under the CBD Incentive Scheme and island-wide.

CBD Incentive Scheme

  1. In March 2019, URA introduced a set of incentives to encourage the conversion of existing, older, office developments into mixed-use developments to help rejuvenate and reposition our CBD as a 24/7 mixed use district. The incentives are applicable to sites located within selected parts of:

    1. Anson (Appendix 1-1 [PDF, 2.9 MB] (opens in new tab));

    2. Cecil Street (Appendix 1-2 [PDF, 3.8 MB] (opens in new tab)); and

    3. Robinson Road, Shenton Way, Tanjong Pagar (Appendix 1-3 [PDF, 3.9 MB] (opens in new tab)).

  2. In line with the planning intention to encourage conversion of office developments to residential, hotel and other mixed uses within the CBD, only applications for conversion of existing surplus car parking spaces to non-office uses (see examples in Table 1) will be considered in the selected areas mentioned in paragraph 2.

  3. For the rest of the Central Area, conversion of surplus car parking spaces to similar non-office uses listed in Table 1 is also highly encouraged, in line with the planning intention to inject more live-in population in the city.

Table 1

Locality

Allowable Change-of-Use for Surplus Carparks 

 Areas where CBD Incentive Scheme applies

Only non-office uses will be allowed, subject to planning evaluation and other considerations such as traffic.

Examples of possible non-office uses:
       a. Residential
       b. Shops e.g. minimart, laundrette, hair salons, etc.
       c. Clinics
       d. Restaurants
       e. Indoor farms
       f. Gymnasium /Fitness centres
       g. Childcare centres
       h. Commercial schools

 Rest of Central Area

Non-office uses are highly encouraged.

Additional GFA

  1. Any additional GFA gained via the conversion of surplus car parking spaces shall not be taken into consideration in determining the maximum permissible intensity that may be allowed when the site redevelops. This will apply to new development proposals2 for conversion of surplus3 car parking spaces island-wide.

Surplus Car Parking Spaces

  1. Where surplus car parking spaces were allowed by LTA through a waiver application to exceed the upper bound of the Range-based Parking Provision Standards (RPPS) after 1 Feb 2019, the development will not be allowed to convert any of the surplus car parking spaces to other uses.

  2. I would appreciate it if you could convey the contents of this circular to the relevant members of your organisations. Further enquiries on this circular can be made to:

    1. LTA on Car Parking Standards and Parking Provisions at Email: LTA- (opens in new tab) DBC_Registry@lta.gov.sg (opens in new tab);

    2. URA on URA Development Applications at https://eservice.ura.gov.sg/feedbackWeb/ (opens in new tab)

Thank You.

CHOU MEI (MS)
GROUP DIRECTOR (CONSERVATION & URBAN DESIGN)
for CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
URBAN REDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY

PRISCILLA CHAN (MS)
GROUP DIRECTOR (POLICY & PLANNING)
for CHIEF EXECUTIVE
LAND TRANSPORT AUTHORITY

1 See the following circulars for reference:

a. URA/LTA’s joint circulars on Conversion of Surplus Car Parking Spaces (Circular No: URA/PB/2016/06-DCG dated 15 April 2016 and Circular No: URA/PB/2018/09-DCG dated 9 Nov 2018); and
b. URA’s circular on Rejuvenation Incentives for Strategic Areas: Central Business District (CBD) Incentive Scheme (Circular No: URA/PB/2025/02-CUDG) dated 07 February 2025.

2 This will not apply to development applications which have already been granted Written Permission before 07 February 2025.

3 Surplus car parking spaces are created when the car parking spaces provided within a development exceeds the minimum requirements under LTA’s prevailing car parking standards.