ST Forum : Can building plan be changed after vote?

Mar 18, 2010

Can building plan be changed after vote?

I REFER to last Saturday's report, 'Lift upgrading in Eunos resumes'.

I share the plight of the affected residents in Eunos in having to put up with poor ventilation and lighting after completion of the lift upgrading. At Block 159, Bishan Street 13 where I live, residents suffered the same fate.

I vividly remember telling the site clerk when the foundation was being dug that the positioning of the lift shaft was not in accordance with the specifications in the drawing plan as voted by residents.

However, HDB staff insisted that the excavation of the lift shaft positioning was in the correct position.

Upon completion of the lift, our earlier misgivings that the design was not the same as what the residents had voted on were confirmed. And as expected, the ventilation and lighting on the second level were below the reasonable expectations of the residents.

The HDB's response was that the lift shaft position was changed after representations made by two executive maisonette units closer to the lift and that nothing could be done to change the situation.

As far as residents are concerned, their votes on the lift upgrading should be honoured. Can the HDB unilaterally change the building plan which the residents had voted on?

As this is a matter of public interest, could the relevant authorities comment on the HDB's unilateral action on the lift upgrading which adversely affects the interest of the residents?

Wee Eng Leong