Friday, June 02, 2006

[RealEdge] TodayOnline : It's time to break camp


  This story was printed from TODAYonline
 
 
  It's time to break camp

Residents near Seletar Airbase told to move, golf club may go too

Wednesday • May 31, 2006

Tor Ching Li and
Chow Penn Nee
chingli@newstoday.com.sg

THE recently-announced multi-million dollar revamp of Seletar Airbase may mean 10,000 more jobs by 2018, but for surrounding residents it also means the loss of a place they call home by 2008.

Even the popular Seletar Base Golf Club may eventually have to make way while the fate of Singapore Youth Flying Club (SYFC) hangs in the balance.

Just a day before the Government announced a $60-million project to turn the Seletar Airport area into a 140ha aerospace park, tenants of the 305 colonial, black-and-white bungalows in the Seletar Estate received notice of the pending plans.

Last Friday, they were informed that all tenants would have to move by end-2008.

Most residents were upset both by the prospect of having to leave their rustic homes and the uncertainty as to what would happen to the area they have sunk roots in.

Said Malaysian-born researcher Ooi Kee Beng, a tenant for the past seven months: "Information has been very sparse. They don't give you information about what they are doing."

There are four agencies currently involved in the transition of the former military airbase: The Singapore Land Authority (SLA), since the houses are on state land, estate managing agent United Premas, aerospace park planner JTC Corporation and the Economic Development Board as industry developer.

United Premas has set up a hotline for tenants' feedback and queries, which are mainly on lease periods and extensions.

According to the SLA, the good news is that none of the tenants will be evicted before their tenancy ends. The last expiry date is on the deadline itself: Dec 31, 2008.

"This is a rented place, anything can happen," said Mrs Toh Fui Yan, a 34-year-old homemaker who stays in a terrace house.

Rental of the units — which vary from one to two-storey bungalows to two-storey terrace houses — range from $1,300 to $3,500 per month for a lease of typically two years.

At a press conference announcing the Seletar Aerospace Park, JTC Corporation chief executive Chong Lit Cheong had said it will not "bring bulldozers in and flatten the land", adding that the team will consider how to retain the charm and heritage of the area.

Together with the Urban Redevelopment Authority, JTC will study the merits of retaining some of the pre-World War II bungalows for other uses. Some possibilities include hostels and aviation training centres.

Details will be available only at the year-end, when the aerospace park masterplan is finalised, said the authorities.

The aerospace park is expected to add $3.3 billion annually to the economy by 2018.

"What will happen to the surrounding shops and golf course?" asked one resident.

According to a source in the Seletar Base Golf Club, it is only a matter of time before the 20ha nine-hole public golf course will have to make way for the aerospace industry.

"There was a briefing by the government for commercial tenants a day before the public announcement, but we haven't received any notice of when we have to evacuate," he said.

"Given that it will be some years before the aerospace park is completed in 2015, we expect the land to be developed progressively in parcels over the years."

Almost 6,000 rounds of golf are played at the popular course every month.

The fate of the SYFC — the main tenant at the Seletar Airbase — hangs in the balance too.

Currently the SYFC makes up around 60 per cent of flights along the Seletar runway, or 5,000 flight hours a year.

Said SYFC general manager LTC (Ret) Timothy de Souza: "We haven't been informed if we'll have to move or when, but it will be a shame given that our current site was upgraded three years ago."

The SYFC, established and funded by the Ministry of Defence, (Mindef) takes up 4ha of land at the airport and has 14 small airplanes parked at the airport. Over 200 students enroll in the school every year.

Some $16 million was spent by Mindef to upgrade the clubhouse into a centralised flying training centre with state-of-the-art facilities.
 
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// posted by Shajahan @ 12:47 AM


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