ST : New flats for Bukit Merah View residents

Nov 9, 2009

New flats for Bukit Merah View residents

300 families can pick Sers replacement flats in nearby Tiong Bahru

By Jennani Durai

FAMILIES in about 300 flats in Bukit Merah View will be offered new homes in nearby Tiong Bahru as their old blocks are slated for redevelopment.

The homeowners can choose from 700 units of new flats ranging from studio to 5-roomers in the Boon Tiong Road area that will be built by the Housing Board.

The 36-year-old flats in Blocks 110, 111, 113 and 114 will be torn down, to be replaced by 700 units, under the Selective En-bloc Redevelopment Scheme (Sers).

News of the move was announced yesterday by the ward's MP, Ms Indranee Rajah, who was making good on her earlier promise to the constituents.

She gave the news at Tanjong Pagar GRC's Tree Planting Day, at which Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew was the guest of honour.

The Bukit Merah move brings to 73 the total number of sites identified for Sers since August 1995.

The area's residents had expressed disappointment at being passed over for upgrading when Ms Indranee became MP for Tanglin-Cairnhill in 2001.

'I promised them that I would look into it and since that time I have had an ongoing dialogue with the HDB over the residents' concerns.'

She found from her walkabouts and a survey of the residents that most preferred Sers over upgrading.

Ms Linda Cheang, 44, who lives on the third floor of Block 114, said: 'We told Ms Indranee twice... that we wished to have the en-bloc scheme. She said some of the other residents wanted upgrading. We said we don't want that as the flats are too old...'

Sers involves redeveloping old blocks of flats and rehousing residents in new and better flats nearby.

The homeowners will be compensated according to current market value, said Ms Indranee. In turn, they can buy the replacement flats at subsidised prices. Each owner will be informed by the HDB of his compensation amount, she added.

Ms Indranee noted that the replacement flats will be at a prime location, near Tiong Bahru Plaza and an MRT station. In addition, some shops and an eating house will be built.

The news came as a relief to many residents who had been waiting a long time for improvement work on their blocks.

'When we heard a few years ago the blocks opposite ours were going en-bloc, I felt disappointed as I had almost bought a flat there. Now, I'm glad these flats will finally go en-bloc,' said food-seller K.W. Teo, who lives in Block 110.

Ms Cheang agreed: 'I am very happy.'

The homeowners may register for their replacement flat in the third quarter of next year, said an HDB statement.

The HDB will also hold an exhibition from Nov 12-18 near Block 114 for residents to find out more about Sers.

Construction of the replacement flats will begin in early 2011 and is expected to be completed by mid-2014.

But Block 116 will not be torn down. The four-storey block was considered for Sers, said the MP. But a study of the area found that it, along with Block 115, which houses the market and hawker centre, formed 'an integral focus point of the community at the neighbourhood centre'.

'If Block 116 was...torn down, it would be like ripping away part of the heart of the community,' said Ms Indranee.

But she assured the residents that she will seek HDB's approval for the block to be considered for the Lift Upgrading Programme. 'Again, this promise is not made lightly. I am very conscious that there are many elderly people in Block 116 who would benefit greatly from having lifts. So I will do my best for Block 116.

'You will not be left out.'