SINGAPORE – After almost two years of living harmoniously with his three housemates in a rental flat, retired carpenter Francis Finian De Souza wants to cry when he thinks about moving out and adapting to a new living environment.
“But this is a rental flat so if we’re asked to move, we don’t complain. As long as we have a next place to live in, it’s OK,” said Mr De Souza, 74, who is a Singaporean of Portuguese descent.
He and his housemates are among residents who have to vacate their rental flats in Blocks 1 and 2 Spooner Road, just off Kampong Bahru Road near Tanjong Pagar, by end-September 2024.
In response to queries from The Straits Times, the Housing Board said around 170 rental households in the two blocks will be relocated as part of the Government’s estate renewal plans, without elaborating on the plans.
The site is zoned for residential use under the Urban Redevelopment Authority’s 2019 masterplan.
Built in 1983, the two eight-storey blocks previously belonged to the Malayan Railway Administration, now known as KTM, and were used to house its staff.
The blocks, which comprise a mix of one-room, two-room and three-room units, were returned to Singapore in 2011, under the 2010 land swop agreement between Singapore and Malaysia.
Since 2012, the state properties have been used as HDB rental flats for tenants under the public rental and interim rental housing schemes.
Flats under the public rental scheme are heavily subsidised to cater to low-income Singaporeans who have no other housing options, while interim rental housing is for lower-income households in the queue for rental flats or awaiting the completion of their flats.
Besides the HDB’s rental schemes, some flats in the two blocks are used as transitional shelters to house homeless individuals under programmes run by New Hope Community Services and Ang Mo Kio Family Service Centre.
The HDB said households under the public rental scheme will be offered the option to move to another rental flat or to buy a flat if they are able to.
Those who opt to continue renting from the HDB will be given priority to select a replacement rental flat, while those who choose to buy a new flat will get priority in the HDB’s sales exercises.
Regardless of their choice, they will receive rehousing benefits to cover moving costs, said the HDB.
Households under the interim rental housing scheme who still require temporary accommodation will be offered another rental flat, said the board.
The HDB has formed a care team comprising grassroots leaders, social service agencies and community partners to guide affected households through the process.
This includes house visits to understand their individual needs and dedicated hotlines for tenants to reach their relocation officer, said the HDB.
On July 25, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office and Second Minister for National Development Indranee Rajah said in a Facebook post that she had visited affected residents the week before to assure them that the HDB would facilitate their relocation to new homes.
“During my visit, most residents welcomed the move and looked forward to a new beginning… We will do our best to ensure a smooth transition for the residents through their next homes,” said Ms Indranee, who is an MP for Tanjong Pagar GRC.
Retired lorry driver Ong Hea Liong, 64, who shares a two-room rental flat with two housemates, is not worried about moving out as he is waiting for his Build-To-Order flat in Toa Payoh to be completed. He hopes to be able to move directly into his new two-room flexi flat with a 35-year lease by September 2024, to cut down the hassle of moving twice.
On his rental flat in Spooner Road, he said: “This location is nice and quiet but the site is quite big with a lot of wasted space, so it’s good that the Government is taking it back. Maybe they’ll build a condo on this land next time.”
Heritage blogger and author Jerome Lim said the tenants’ relocation is no surprise as it is widely known that the use of the blocks as rental flats was an interim measure and the site would eventually be redeveloped. He noted that the two blocks were a relatively more recent addition to the site, replacing the original set of flats that were developed together with the railway station and the yard in Tanjong Pagar in the 1930s.
He considers the blocks to have less significant architectural value as a result, compared with the railway maintenance sheds, workshops, a Hindu temple and Customs warehouses in and around the yard that have since been demolished, and railway paraphernalia that were returned to Malaysia.
While redevelopment is inevitable, he hopes the road and its name will be retained.
Those who opt to continue renting from the HDB will be given priority to select a replacement rental flat. ST PHOTO: CHONG JUN LIANG
Spooner Road was named after Charles Edwin Spooner, the first general manager of the Federated Malay States Railways, the predecessor of the Malayan Railway Administration.
The road name is also used in other parts of Malaysia where railway staff quarters are located, such as in Ipoh and Kuala Lumpur, which makes both the road and name worth retaining as they are an important marker of history, said Mr Lim.
Architectural historian Yeo Kang Shua from the Singapore University of Technology and Design said the authorities could consider retaining the “running bungalow” – a building once used as a rest stop for train drivers – and an old police post with the word “Polis”.
Both are found near the entrance of Spooner Road and appear to be unused.
“While the two blocks of flats might not hold significant architectural value, the other smaller structures such as the Malaysia police post might be more relevant as, collectively, they set a historical context,” said Dr Yeo.
“Source:[Around 170 rental households to vacate Spooner Road HDB flats as part of Govt estate renewal plans] © Singapore Press Holdings Limited. Permission required for reproduction”
