Plans for New Housing Estate in Mount Pleasant and Incorporating Lessons from Pilot Heritage Study into Planning Processes

Mr Leon Perera asked the Minister for National Development with regard to the plans for a new housing estate in the Mount Pleasant area (a) whether an update can be provided on the (i) preliminary lessons from the pilot heritage study on Mount Pleasant and its incorporation into the planning processes and (ii) development of the heritage impact assessment framework; and (b) whether the heritage impact assessment framework will require consultation with heritage groups and the public in upstream planning processes.

Today, the Urban Redevelopment Authority's (URA) evaluation of the heritage significance of buildings and structures takes into consideration their architectural, historical and social significance. The current planning process also takes into account the views of community and stakeholder groups, to enrich our assessment of conservation merit and ensure that heritage aspects are adequately addressed.

As the site for the new housing estate in the Mount Pleasant area covers a sizable area and comprises old buildings from different periods in history, including the former Police Academy, agencies had commissioned a pilot large-scale detailed heritage study.

The study examined the heritage significance of the buildings and structures in detail and considered additional aspects, such as communal, contextual and social values, which complemented agencies' existing evaluation criteria in assessing the conservation merits of a building. This additional layer of independent assessment validated agencies' earlier assessments and provided a more holistic understanding of the heritage significance of the former Police Academy. It also guided agencies in their assessment of possible detailed strategies and measures to mitigate the impact of development plans and sensitively integrate heritage elements into the new housing estate.

The pilot study informed our ongoing work to develop a heritage impact assessment framework, as we consider how such studies should be conducted, how findings can be incorporated, and the sites for which such studies would be most useful, to strengthen our heritage evaluation process.

We will continue to deepen and broaden our engagement to build and strengthen constructive relationships with the relevant stakeholders. We will provide an update on the heritage impact assessment framework soon.