New NHB office to help boost footfall to historic precincts like Chinatown, Little India

SINGAPORE – A new Placemaking Project Office will be set up to support heritage businesses and others in the community in Chinatown, Kampong Glam and Little India and encourage more people to visit these places.

The office within the National Heritage Board (NHB) will engage community stakeholders in these districts from the first half of 2026, after receiving feedback that heritage businesses need more support with footfall and revenue.

Senior Minister of State for Culture, Community and Youth Low Yen Ling announced the new office at the debate of the ministry’s budget on March 5.

The Government has been engaging those in the community in the four areas, known as historic districts by the Urban Redevelopment Authority, through the Interagency Taskforce for Heritage Businesses, Traditional Activities and Cultural Life to see how to better support them.

Business owners and other community partners have said that they would like greater support for placemaking to drive the vibrancy of the area, and increase footfall and revenue for heritage businesses. Placemaking refers to proactively managing an area to make it better.

Ms Low said the project office will provide seed funding, link groups to relevant agencies, and build capabilities to design, implement and scale placemaking initiatives.

NHB will also work on promoting a deeper understanding and knowledge of Singapore’s historic districts to encourage more people to visit and reconnect with these spaces and the heritage businesses within them.

Ms Joan Pereira (Tanjong Pagar GRC) asked about the Government’s approach in assessing the future public use of the former home of founding prime minister Lee Kuan Yew at 38 Oxley Road.

It is important that the process of developing the site into a public space takes into account “national heritage needs, exercises sensitivity and respect for the dignity of the site, and also takes into account the concerns and needs of neighbouring residents”, she said, adding that the neighbours will be the most greatly impacted by this development.

In response, Ms Low said that the acquisition process for the site is ongoing, and NHB will conduct a holistic study in consultation with the relevant agencies to assess how the public education value of the site can be optimised.

She said the Government will work with Ms Pereira and government agencies to engage residents living near the site, and consider ideas and feedback to minimise any potential disamenities.

Mr Foo Cexiang (Tanjong Pagar GRC) had asked if MCCY plans to allow more Singaporeans to play an active role in celebrating neighbourhood heritage.

Ms Low said two new Heritage Activation Nodes (HAN) will be launched in 2026, in Telok Blangah and Tiong Bahru, to boost heritage activities and visitorship in the areas. HANs, started in 2024, aim to involve the community in developing projects and activities that celebrate the heritage and character of their neighbourhoods.

Three HANs in Katong-Joo Chiat, Clementi and Punggol have recorded a total of 30,000 visitors to date. More than 360 volunteers have been involved in activities across these nodes, six in 10 of whom are youth.

The new HAN@Telok Blangah will be launched with community organisation Participate in Design, which will co-develop and organise regular activities to engage the community and help shape the node’s programmes with other Telok Blangah residents.

The node at Tiong Bahru will be launched at the Tiong Bahru Community Centre, and will celebrate the area’s unique public housing architecture, long-time religious sites and heritage businesses, and boost lesser-known histories of the area.

NHB will also launch the Little India Citizen Engagement Project, calling for volunteers in mid-2026. The project follows iterations in 2022 and 2025 in Kampong Glam and Chinatown, respectively, where volunteers interviewed and documented the unique stories behind heritage businesses in the area.

The stories to be collected in Little India aim to cover the practices and transmission of traditional techniques of heritage businesses, social ties and cultural significance as anchors in the precinct.

NHB targets to recruit 60 citizen volunteers to document 50 heritage businesses in Little India. After the open call in mid-2026, volunteers will receive training and interview businesses in the second half of 2026.

The stories collected will be published in 2027.

“These efforts remind us that heritage endures not only because it is preserved by institutions, but because it is kept alive by people,” said Ms Low.

The Indian Heritage Centre will also engage the Singapore Indian community and stakeholders such as businesses in the precinct in the second quarter of 2026 to co-develop its role as a key node for Singapore Indian culture.

Minister of State for Culture, Community and Youth Dinesh Vasu Dash said the engagements also aim to boost cultural placemaking efforts for the district.

Meanwhile, the Malay Heritage Centre will reopen its doors to the public on April 25, following a major restoration and redevelopment project that began in 2022.

The centre will also establish a dedicated research unit to build knowledge and expertise in Singapore Malay culture and heritage, and launch programmes to grow the next generation of Malay cultural practitioners.