We thank Mr David Goh Chee Hoe for his letter “Make private houses, condos set aside land for greenery” (March 29).

In Singapore, the provision of greenery is planned upfront at various scales, catering to different needs and preferences. Besides larger parks such as East Coast Park and Jurong Lake Gardens that cater to a wider catchment of users, land is also set aside for neighbourhood parks to serve residents in both landed and non-landed housing estates. Our aim is for every household to be within a 10-minute walk of a park or park connector by 2030.

Given our limited land, we also consciously integrate greenery into our urban environment and infrastructure, such as planting of trees along roads and pedestrian footpaths.

There are various guidelines and requirements in place for the provision of greenery within new development projects such as condominiums.

For example, the Urban Redevelopment Authority’s Landscaping for Urban Spaces and High-rises programme sets out requirements and provides incentives for developers and building owners to integrate skyrise greenery and other landscaped communal spaces in their developments.

Some guidelines enable developers of condominiums to build landscaped decks over carparks and add greenery to the compound. In addition, envelope control guidelines ensure that landed homes are set back from their plot’s boundary lines and site coverage controls determine the maximum footprint a detached home can occupy on its plot.

The National Parks Board (NParks) also has the Landscape Excellence Assessment Framework certification scheme that recognises good landscape design and construction as well as the provision and management of greenery in development projects, and the Skyrise Greenery Incentive Scheme, which aims to increase greenery by encouraging the installation of new skyrise greenery on existing buildings.

Regarding the landed property development highlighted by Mr Goh, NParks had required the developer to carry out replacement planting of the affected roadside trees and this has been completed. Agencies will continue to explore ways to incorporate greenery into our urban environment, ensuring that residents can enjoy its benefits.

Goh Chin Chin
Group Director (Development Control)
Urban Redevelopment Authority

Oh Cheow Sheng
Group Director, Streetscape
National Parks Board