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World Cities Summit Issue, Jun 2008
The Twin Pillars of
Estate Rejuvenation
Tay Kim Poh
SELECTIVE EN BLOC REDEVELOPMENT SCHEME
The Selective En bloc Redevelopment Scheme (SERS) was introduced in 1995, as part of the Government’s plan to rejuvenate and intensify development in older estates. Precincts selected for SERS are those where there are clear economic benefits to the city-state. This is assessed by considering the redevelopment potential of the site, taking into account the cost of acquisition and reconstruction, as well as other related costs. Up until March this year, 71 precincts involving some 32,700 sold flats in various old estates have been announced for SERS.
As SERS serves the national strategic objective while optimising land use, the flats identified for redevelopment under SERS are compulsorily acquired under the Land Acquisition Act. The older flats are demolished to make way for new developments after residents from these older flats are resettled into replacement flats (Figure 2). The implementation of SERS is handled with sensitivity because of the resettlement of residents. It has been found that this sensitivity during implementation helped to achieve positive ground support for the programme. HDB surveys showed that most of the affected residents appreciated the programme. Support for SERS increased further after residents moved into their new flats. A majority reported being highly satisfied with their new homes and surroundings.
Since residents are uprooted under SERS, care is taken to minimise the inconvenience caused and also to share with them the benefits of SERS. A generous benefits package for affected flat owners helps secure better buy-in. Owners are offered compensation for their existing flats based on the full market value of their flats and an assured replacement flat at affordable prices. They only need to move out of their existing flats after the construction of replacement flats has been completed. By trading their old flats with shorter leases for new ones with fresh 99-year leases, SERS residents get to enjoy new flats with the latest designs and amenities and at enhanced market values.
In many countries, relocation is often met with apprehension and resistance from affected residents because of the uprooting and break-up of existing community ties. Cognisant of such fears, HDB has taken due measures in the planning for SERS to ensure that residents can continue living in familiar neighbourhoods with minimal disruptions to their daily routines. HDB builds a wide range of new replacement flats at nearby sites to re-house the affected residents. Through joint selection exercises, neighbours get to choose flats where they can continue to live close to one another in the new precincts. The assured allocation of new replacement flats within close proximity of their existing flats and neighbours preserves the existing community ties.
HDB also builds more new flats than required for the re-housing of SERS flat owners in replacement precincts. The surplus new flats are then sold to other applicants, with priority given to young married couples. This helps to bring in younger residents to improve the demographic and socio-economic profile of the residents in the new precincts. To encourage married children to take care of their aged parents, applicants from outside SERS precincts who apply to stay with or near their parents in replacement precincts are offered additional priority in the allocation of flats under a “Married Child Priority Scheme”. This further helps to attract young married couples to move back to the old estates to live near their parents, helping to strengthen family ties. Hence, besides the quantifiable gains from intensified redevelopment of the cleared sites, SERS helps to enhance both the physical and social fabric of older estates.
At the launch of SERS, the affected residents are consulted on the types of flats they want, the precinct name and the location and type of common facilities they wish to have at their replacement precincts. Feedback from SERS residents shows that they found the consultation exercises to be useful and effective in promoting community bonding and instilling a greater sense of ownership of the new precinct.
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