Farrer Park community cheers plan to keep sports heritage alive

When news first emerged in 2018 that the Farrer Park fields would be returned to the Government for residential use, Mr Nicholas Narayanan and several other individuals who felt attached to the area were moved to act.

They formed the Friends of Farrer Park (FOFP) and launched a petition urging the authorities to preserve the sporting heritage of the area, a hallowed ground for sports from the 1930s to the 1980s. Their voices were heard.

Yesterday, the Housing Board, Sport Singapore and the Urban Redevelopment Authority unveiled plans for the site that included allocating about 20 per cent of the 10ha site for sports and recreational uses, in addition to about 1,600 new flats. The Build-To-Order projects will be launched for sale within three years.

Mr Narayanan said he has "lost count" of the number of engagement sessions FOFP has had with the authorities over the past four years, but said it was worth the effort. "I am pleased at the (plans for) rejuvenation of the estate and that there is a firm commitment towards retaining the sporting heritage of Farrer Park," said the 49-year-old lawyer.

"It is good they are retaining part of the fields as well and they are going to have a jogging track... It is a plan which seems to fit in with quite a number of the residents' needs."

The Farrer Park site is bounded by Dorset Road, Keng Lee Road, Hampshire Road and Race Course Road. Plans for open spaces for sports and recreation include a 1.2ha central green space comprising a field and park.

The former boxing gym building - previously a training ground for the Singapore Amateur Boxing Association - will be retained and converted into a multi-purpose community sporting space.

The estate's multi-storey carpark will be designed such that its ground floor can be set aside for sporting facilities. There will also be other amenities such as fitness corners, a jogging track and playgrounds.

But the Farrer Park Swimming Complex will not be retained despite earlier plans to keep the facility, with the agencies citing "technical considerations" such as ground settlement issues. In its place will be a new sports centre with swimming pools and other sporting facilities.

Mr Narayanan, who had learnt to swim at the complex as a young boy, said he hoped the new facility will retain some hallmarks of the existing one, such as the building structure or parts of the pool.

The complex is at present home to former Olympian Ang Peng Siong's eponymous swim school, which has leased the facility since 2004. In a Facebook post addressing his school's "friends and stakeholders", Mr Ang, an Asian Games champion and the world's fastest swimmer in 1982, noted they "have shared many memories together at the complex".

The 59-year-old told The Straits Times he is working with the authorities on continuing his school's operations at a location nearby, so as to minimise inconvenience to the swimmers based there.

He welcomed plans for sports and recreational use in the area, but added: "When we started in 2004, it took us about three or four years before we saw the vibrancy come back to Farrer Park, and people started using the fields again for Frisbee and other activities. With this in mind, when there is an existing ecosystem, it is heartbreaking (to lose it)."

Tennis coach Shaun Aw Yong, 41, was sad to see the Farrer Park Tennis Centre go. He started playing there when he was eight, and said the Farrer Park sports community was like a family.

Ms Peggy Chua, 48, a resident of the nearby Farrer Park View estate, was looking forward to the new estate. The secretary hoped the new facilities would help her son Nicholas, 15, become more active.