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Source:
www.ura.gov.sg |
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203 BUILDINGS IN SYED ALWI ROAD
AREA TO BE CONSERVED |
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The Syed Alwi Road area adjoining Little
India Historic District and Jalan Besar conservation area will be
gazetted for conservation, after a comprehensive public consultation
with building owners in the area. |
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Minister for National Development, Mr Mah
Bow Tan, announced this at the annual corporate plan seminar of Urban
Redevelopment Authority (URA) this morning (24 Mar 2006). |
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Over the past two decades, through concerted
conservation efforts, more than 6,500 buildings have been gazetted for
conservation in Singapore islandwide. |
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The conservation of the Syed Alwi Road area
will add, to the nation¡¯s stock of conservation buildings, another 203
units within selected streetblocks along Roberts Lane, Birch Road,
Serangoon Road, Desker Road, Rowell Road, Syed Alwi Road, Jalan Besar
and Townshend Road. |
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Protection of Little India¡¯s rich built
heritage completed |
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The Syed Alwi Road area is part of the
larger Little India area which is rich in culture, history and
architectural heritage and forms the historic heart of our local Indian
community. The Little India Historic District was earlier gazetted for
conservation in 1989 while Jalan Besar was gazetted in 1991 and 2003. |
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The Syed Alwi Road area is characterised by
rows of two- to four-storey shophouses from the mid-1800s to 1960s along
a network of streets, creating a pleasant human-scaled environment. |
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The diversity of architectural styles
contributes to a visually interesting streetscape. They showcase the
entire range of styles of shophouses and shopflats, as well as
individual landmarks that illustrate Singapore¡¯s built heritage. |
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The area is already a key heritage
attraction for locals and visitors, and a frequent destination for
students on National Education fieldtrips. |
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The conservation of Syed Alwi Road completes
the protection of the important historical streetblocks that link up
Little India and Jalan Besar conservation areas. It will also allow the
area to continue to evolve and throb with a vibrant community life, with
unique traditional trades thriving alongside newer businesses. |
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Engaging stakeholders |
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As part of its continual efforts to
engage stakeholders in conservation issues through public
consultation, URA wrote letters to all the owners of the buildings
identified for conservation in May 2005 to explain the conservation
proposal and seek their feedback. Its officers also met up with
those owners who wanted to find out more about the proposal. |
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The large majority of the owners who
responded gave their thumbs-up to the proposal. Expressing the
sentiment of many owners who were pleased that URA had recognised
the heritage of the area, Mr Alwi Alkaff, descendant of one of the
pioneer Yemeni Arab families in Singapore and owner of No. 117 Syed
Alwi Road, said: ¡°It¡¯s good to keep the historical architecture in
this area.¡± |
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Mr Peh Kheng Peng, owner of No 193/194
Syed Alwi Road, was ¡°happy with the proposal¡±. He added: ¡°The house
was bought by my grandfather when arrived from China in the 1940s.¡± |
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Similarly pitching in his support, Dr
Rajesh Raj, Honorary Secretary of Arya Samaj which founded DAV Hindi
School at Syed Alwi Road was elated and asserted: ¡°We seek to
express our unflinching support for the conservation of the Syed
Alwi Road area.¡± |
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Many owners also appreciated that URA
had taken a proactive approach in consulting them before the
proposal is finalised. |
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Taking into consideration the owners¡¯
concerns and feedback, the proposed buildings were carefully
evaluated based on their architectural quality, contribution to the
streetscape and broader objective of retaining national heritage. |
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The proposal was also supported by the
Conservation Advisory Panel (CAP) as it would complete the critical
mass of heritage buildings in the area. Made up of 15 members of the
public from diverse backgrounds, the CAP was formed in 2002 to give
inputs on built heritage proposals put up by URA, as well as to
propose buildings for URA to study for possible conservation. |
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Balancing conservation with
development needs |
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Despite having to provide for a
country¡¯s various land use needs within a small city-state,
conservation is important to Singapore in forging a sense of
rootedness for our people and protecting our unique built heritage
for future generations. As such, conservation is an integral part of
city planning. The need for conservation will continue to be
carefully balanced against development needs. |
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URA will continue to identify historical
buildings which are significant markers of Singapore¡¯s history. It
is currently looking at post-war buildings which have strong
architectural, historical and social significance and are familiar
and distinctive to the community. In particular, it is studying
landmarks and buildings built during the post-war period which are
symbolic of our early nation-building years. |
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Source:
www.ura.gov.sg News Release 24
Mar 2006 |
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FrontPage Edition: Sun 2 Apr 2006
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