Letter from Tan See Nin Director (Physical Planning) Urban Redevelopment Authority
Today Online 18 Jun 11;
WE REFER to Mr Ronald Chan's letter 'Why destroy natural habitat when other land available' (June 15).
The Urban Redevelopment Authority has been consciously conserving both built and natural heritage in our planning for Singapore.
For instance, just across the road from Bukit Brown is our Central Catchment, a large protected tropical nature reserve which has a special place in the heart of many nature lovers.
Planning for the long-term in land-scarce Singapore does require us to make difficult trade-off decisions.
We will have to continue to ensure that sufficient land is safeguarded island-wide, and find ways to make good use of our limited land in order to meet future demand for uses such as housing, industry and infrastructure.
Bukit Brown is needed in the future for housing, as it is centrally located and is close to established residential areas. There is provision for a future MRT station along the Circle Line to serve the area.
We thank the writer for his feedback.
