Proposal for Community Gardens to be Built as Standard Communal Facilities in HDB Estates

Ms Hany Soh asked the Minister for National Development whether community gardens will be built as part of the standard communal facilities and features in BTO developments and Neighbourhood Renewal Programmes to foster community bonding and enhance food security resilience.

Since 2009, HDB has provided spaces and built infrastructure such as planter beds or boxes on the roof gardens of multi-storey car parks (MSCPs) in Build-To-Order (BTO) developments. These roof-top spaces can be converted into community gardens if there is interest from residents. Community gardens can also be set up in suitable spaces on the ground level.

HDB will continue to plan for more spaces for community gardens within new housing estates. For instance, Tengah, the newest HDB town, will include farmways to make community gardening and farming an important feature as part of the overall concept of a Forest Town.

For existing estates, Town Councils can choose to implement community gardens under the Neighbourhood Renewal Programme (NRP). Before finalising the scope of NRP works, Town Councils will engage and consult local residents on the facilities they would like to see in their precincts. Based on HDB’s records, about half of the NRP projects implemented to-date have incorporated community gardens as part of the improvement works.