Plans being considered to redevelop Yishun Sport Centre, which was opened in 1992

SINGAPORE – The 32-year-old Yishun Sport Centre may be redeveloped as part of plans to improve the sporting facilities available to residents in the north.

This is among developments that the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) showcased recently at an ongoing travelling exhibition for its upcoming Recreation Master Plan.

The exhibition, which made a stop at Canberra Plaza from July 6 to 14, also outlined other development possibilities under consideration.

These include an upcoming integrated development near Woodlands North MRT station that may incorporate the administrative building of the former Royal Malayan Naval Base, which URA has said will be kept.

The exhibition is part of efforts by the URA to invite the public to give feedback for the recreation masterplan, which will be incorporated into the Draft Master Plan to be launched in 2025.

URA and Sport Singapore told The Straits Times that government agencies are studying plans to improve facilities at the Yishun Sport Centre, and that public feedback submitted at the exhibition will be considered in the planning process.

Opened in 1992, the sport centre in Yishun Avenue 1 comprises an indoor sports hall, a gym, and a stadium with a running track and field.

Also part of the centre is Yishun Swimming Complex in Yishun Avenue 3, located about 1.3km from the stadium.

According to the URA Master Plan, there is scope for the centre to be expanded at the Yishun Avenue 1 site – the existing facilities including the stadium and sports hall occupy only about a third of the 5.8ha site that is zoned for sports and recreational use.

Besides serving existing residents, the centre will in the future be the closest public sports facility to the

upcoming Chencharu housing area

, which is slated to have 10,000 homes.

The stadium is currently closed until Oct 31, 2024 for renovation, including track resurfacing works.

Yishun resident Sangeethaa P., who visits the swimming complex almost every morning with her parents, said some of the facilities, such as its toilets, are due for an upgrade.

The 26-year-old finance undergraduate suggested that the swimming complex could be moved to Yishun Avenue 1, so that the new Yishun Sport Centre based there would be a one-stop location where residents can access multiple facilities.

Another Yishun resident, Mr Louis Tan, 34, said that the running track could be a sheltered one, so that it can be used regardless of the weather.

Mr Tan, who works in pharmaceutical sales, said a sheltered track might provide better noise insulation when sporting events are organised at the stadium.

The Yishun Sport Centre is the latest in a series of such centres to be considered for redevelopment or renovation.

Some other facilities that could soon be refreshed include

Bedok Stadium

,

Yio Chu Kang Sport Centre

and Serangoon Sport Centre.

Clementi Stadium

, meanwhile, will be redeveloped by 2030.

Pointing to the centres that may be redeveloped, architectural historian Yeo Kang Shua said that he hopes the authorities would consider retaining as much of the existing infrastructure as possible for heritage and resource sustainability.

He cited the

Delta Sport Centre

renovation project by Red Bean Architects, which was lauded for retaining much of the over four-decade-old centre’s existing structures. It bagged a design-of-the-year award at the Singapore Institute of Architects’ Architectural Design Awards 2023.

Other redevelopment plans under consideration by URA involve repurposing heritage buildings such as the

administrative block of the former Royal Malayan Naval Base

in Woodlands North.

The building was included in an AI-generated image of the upcoming integrated development at Woodlands North, which will be within a new housing estate near the future Johor Bahru-Singapore Rapid Transit System station.

Various facilities for sports, community, healthcare and food and beverage uses could be included in the development, which is under study.

Also being studied is how to repurpose the former View Road Hospital at 10 View Road, which sits within a site zoned for business use that will be part of the upcoming Woodlands North Coast estate by JTC Corporation.

URA said that the estate “has the potential to have a campus-like setting that promotes collaboration, with flexible spaces to co-locate knowledge-intensive and service-oriented activities alongside manufacturing operations”.

The agency said it is evaluating the possibility of repurposing the former hospital for “complementary uses”.

The public may in the future also be able to access the former Sembawang Fire Station – a conserved building – as part of future developments in Sembawang Shipyard.

The site could comprise housing, office space and facilities for recreation and activities, with other future uses leveraging the site’s waterfront setting and maritime heritage.

URA said it is considering opening heritage buildings and waterfront spaces for the public to enjoy in the future.

Upcoming nature parks in the north are also highlighted in URA’s exhibition – some of these parks were delayed after the pandemic affected their development timelines.

The 73ha

Mandai Mangrove and Mudflat Nature Park

will be completed in 2027, while the 40ha

Khatib Bongsu Nature Park

is slated to open in stages from 2028.

Meanwhile, the

proposed Nee Soon Nature Park

, which is intended to be an extension of Nee Soon Swamp Forest, is still under study.

Recreation Master Plan roving exhibition