28 residential units in Tiong Bahru rezoned for commercial use

Tiong Bahru staples like decades-old Por Kee Eating House and Ting Heng Seafood Restaurant have had their status in the estate secured.

Yesterday, the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) said it will rezone 28 residential units on the first level into commercial ones. The change in use becomes official next month.

A URA spokesman said the rezoning exercise, which follows a two-year study of the area, balances the need to have "a good living environment for residents, and commercial uses to serve residents and visitors".

The change provides "transparency on where commercial uses can be allowed".

The estate houses 120 authorised businesses and 800 homes, many in conserved pre-war Singapore Improvement Trust flats.

The spokesman said the rezoning formalises the shops' presence, especially since many are operating in units that had been given permission to be used as business from as early as in the 1940s and "have become part of the estate's fabric".

Lifestyle

Teatime: Have we lost our kampung spirit?

Jun 28, 2024

Related Stories

Briton who died on SQ321 was looking forward to ‘last big holiday’ with wife

SRC members protest fund-raising for $16.6m upgrading plan

$1 set meals, vegetable packs and eggs in year-long deals for Bukit Panjang residents

At the same time, it ensures that "commercial uses do not sprout out indiscriminately across the residential estate".

Financial services trainer Daniel Wong, 50, who has lived in the estate all his life, welcomed the moves.

He said: "The businesses that have been rezoned are already part of this area, they give life to the estate.

"As for more new businesses, I have no real issue as long as they are not doing heavy cooking or massages."

The URA is also working with about 15 businesses - including yoga studios, art galleries and offices - operating in units meant only for residential use to address the infringements "within a reasonable time frame".

Some of them have been given letters informing them of their possible infringements.

As part of guidelines for the Home Office and Small Business schemes, owners, tenants or occupiers can run businesses in residential spaces as long as they live there, among other things.

When The Straits Times went to Tiong Bahru yesterday, it was clear some affected units did not have anyone living in them.

A 67-year-old shopkeeper, who asked not to be identified, said he would not be able to afford a commercial unit of the same size elsewhere, and felt it was also "too bureaucratic" of the authorities to insist that someone live in the unit.