# Sunset Way housing plans 'not final'; HDB says it remains open to feedback

- **Source:** Channel NewsAsia
- **Published:** 2026-07-17T14:56:05.000Z
- **Author:** Erin Liam, Koh Wan Ting
- **Original:** https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/sunset-way-maju-forest-petition-hdb-6258136
- **Topics:** HDB & Public Housing

## Featured rationale

Strong housing demand and resident opposition may shape the final design, potentially affecting retained greenery, project density, traffic planning and nearby living conditions.

## AI summary

HDB said Sunset Way’s housing plan remains unfinalised, with about 8ha of the 23ha Maju Forest study area currently proposed for retention.

## Original article

SINGAPORE: Development plans for Sunset Way are not final, as the Housing and Development Board (HDB) looks to balance resident concerns over Maju Forest with housing needs, its chief town planner Chong Fook Loong said on Friday (Jul 17). “We have to make trade-offs. We have to understand how to balance housing and nature to bring about the best plan, as we always do wherever we go,” said Dr Chong, who is also group director of HDB’s urban planning division. He was speaking to CNA ahead of an engagement session for the proposed residential development at Sunset Way. At least 100 residents, as well as Members of Parliament for Holland-Bukit Timah GRC Christopher de Souza and Sim Ann, attended the closed-door session at Bukit Timah Community Club. HDB announced last Friday (Jul 10) that Sunset Way, along with Gillman Barracks, will be developed for housing. Much of the Sunset Way site within Maju Forest has been zoned for residential use since the 1980 master plan. Under the development plans, about 8ha of the 23ha study area will be retained, mostly along the forest's periphery.

Dr Chong pointed to the recent Clementi Build-to-Order (BTO) exercise, which was more than four times oversubscribed, as evidence of a "great need" for more housing supply. “Our first inkling and priority is to go for brownfield sites. Unfortunately, within Clementi and the region, there are very, very few such sites. So, we have to now focus on Sunset Way site to see how that can help to enhance the supply,” he said. Brownfield sites are land that has been previously developed while greenfield sites like Sunset Way are largely undeveloped land, often with existing greenery or ecosystems. The development of Sunset Way is guided by an Environmental Impact Assessment that helps HDB understand the site's ecological features and significance, he added. “Now again, that plan is not final. We are working on it. And through these plans and through these trade-offs, we hope to work further with residents and stakeholders,” Dr Chong said, adding that HDB is seeking feedback following the publication of the environmental study. Ms Sim, who is also Senior Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and Home Affairs, said Friday’s session gave residents a chance to air their views and concerns directly to the agencies involved. “Some residents have expressed a sense of loss for the greenery. Some residents have also expressed concern about the possible impact on future traffic, and we have also residents who are concerned about what construction might mean, what kind of interim disamenities might arise, such as noise,” she said, adding that others were curious about what amenities would be added to the neighbourhood. The engagement session ran for more than two and a half hours, with representatives from HDB and the MPs addressing residents before the floor was opened to questions, residents who attended said. Concerns raised included overdevelopment, deforestation and traffic congestion. Some residents told CNA after the session that they remained unsettled about the development plans, though they hoped the agencies would take their feedback into account.

CONCERNS ABOUT MAJU FOREST Most of the 11 Sunset Way residents CNA spoke to earlier this week said the announcement has been difficult to accept. Among them is Madam Teo, a 68-year-old retiree who has lived in an HDB flat at Sunset Way for three decades and asked to be identified only by her surname. Mdm Teo regularly photographs wildlife at the forest's edge, including long-tailed macaques and monitor lizards. In January, she recalled, nature photographers flocked to the estate to capture images of Himalayan vultures there. "I was devastated when I read it," Mdm Teo said of the announcement. "For those who have not been so close to it, they may dismiss it as just another patch of forest, and then to cut it down for housing is no big deal. "But for us within the Sunset Way Estate, it is this rare opportunity to live in an urban environment and still be so close and to be able to experience this bond."

She hopes the authorities will review the plans and preserve more of the forest. Members of the public can submit feedback on the plans until Aug 6. Thousands have also signed online petitions calling for Maju Forest to be preserved. One of the most prominent, addressed to several government agencies, has drawn more than 17,000 signatures as of Friday evening. It urged authorities to "pause the clearance" of the forest and prioritise brownfield sites such as expiring golf courses and ageing industrial land for housing instead. Long-time residents Felicia Koh and Alastair Hunt, who signed the petition, moved in 2020 from a nearby condominium to a flat facing Maju Forest to be closer to nature. “The Maju Forest is a small forest with a big heart," said Mr Hunt, the founder of a health practice. "It's a tiny but vibrant piece of forest that provides us all with fresh air, cool breezes, access to nature, mental and physical health. “It gives people joy and pleasure in our community and outside the community … It is such a valuable resource for this part of Singapore,” he said. Ms Koh asked whether authorities could explore alternative sites for housing. “Use brownfield sites first before you even dig into any forest in Singapore. We've lost too much in the last 10 years.”

OTHER COMPETING INTERESTS Not all residents CNA spoke to opposed the development. One long-time resident, who declined to be named, backed the redevelopment as necessary for Singapore's growth. The man, who has lived in Sunset Way for around four decades, was strolling along a popular trail leading from Maju Forest to the Sunset Way neighbourhood centre when CNA approached him. "Singapore has so many people but its land is limited," he said in Mandarin. "There is nothing to be done about it." He added that he hoped to move into one of the new flats, as his current block was ageing. Another resident, Mr Raymond Ho, who lives in a ground-floor maisonette in Sunset Way Estate, said he expected the forest's redevelopment would mean fewer monkeys wandering into the neighbourhood. The 79-year-old said the animals have occasionally entered his home through the balcony. Other residents raised concerns about traffic congestion from an influx of new residents. A new road linking Sunset Way and Clementi Road, completed in 2024, was meant to ease congestion. Before it was built, Sunset Way was the only road in and out of the area. Potential noise and debris from construction were also flagged as concerns, though residents said these were secondary to the potential loss of Maju Forest. Mr Winston Choo, 85, who bought his landed property in Sunset Way in 1964, said he appreciated how the forest had served as a buffer that kept the neighbourhood quiet. “If we have to build the housing, design it such that it doesn't affect the privacy, the wind flow, and the noise level for the people living in this neighbourhood,” said the retiree.

## Chinese translation

> Translation model: grok

### 日落道住房规划“尚未最终定案”；建屋局称仍开放反馈

逾100名居民出席周五闭门会议，就失去马裕森林表达关切。

新加坡：建屋发展局（HDB）首席城市规划师钟福龙（Chong Fook Loong）周五（7月17日）表示，日落道（Sunset Way）的发展计划尚未最终定案，建屋局正设法在居民对马裕森林（Maju Forest）的关切与住房需求之间取得平衡。“我们必须作出取舍。我们必须明白如何平衡住房与自然，以达致最佳方案，一如我们在任何地方所做的，”钟博士说，他亦是建屋局城市规划组集团总监。他在日落道拟议住宅发展公众参与活动前接受CNA访问。

至少100名居民，以及荷兰—武吉知马集选区国会议员Christopher de Souza与沈颖（Sim Ann），出席了在武吉知马民众俱乐部举行的闭门会议。建屋局上周五（7月10日）宣布，日落道连同吉尔曼军营（Gillman Barracks）将开发为住房。日落道地段内马裕森林的大部分区域自1980年总体规划起已划作住宅用途。在发展计划下，约23公顷研究范围内约8公顷将被保留，主要沿森林边缘。

钟博士以近期金文泰预购组屋（BTO）认购超过四倍超额为例，说明“极大需要”增加住房供应。“我们的第一直觉与优先是选择棕地。不幸的是，在金文泰及该区域，这类地段非常、非常少。因此我们现在必须聚焦日落道地段，看其如何有助提升供应，”他说。棕地是曾开发过的土地，而如日落道这类绿地则大多未开发，往往存有现有绿化或生态系统。他补充，日落道的发展以环境影响评估为指导，帮助建屋局了解地段的生态特征与重要性。“同样，该方案尚未最终定案。我们仍在研究。通过这些方案与取舍，我们希望进一步与居民及利益相关者合作，”钟博士说，并表示建屋局在环境研究报告发表后正征求反馈。

沈颖亦是外交与内政部高级政务部长，她表示周五的会议让居民有机会直接向相关部门表达意见与关切。“一些居民对失去绿化感到失落。一些居民也担心对未来交通的可能影响，还有居民关心施工意味着什么、可能出现怎样的过渡性不便，例如噪音，”她说，并补充另一些居民则好奇会为社区增加哪些配套。据出席居民称，参与会议历时逾两个半小时，建屋局代表与议员先向居民说明，随后开放提问。提出的关切包括过度开发、砍伐森林及交通拥堵。会后一些居民告诉CNA，他们对发展计划仍感不安，但希望当局会考虑他们的反馈。

对马裕森林的关切

本周早前CNA访问的11名日落道居民中，多数表示这一宣布难以接受。其中，68岁退休人士张女士（Madam Teo，仅愿以姓氏受访）已在日落道组屋居住三十年。张女士经常在森林边缘拍摄野生动物，包括长尾猕猴与巨蜥。她回忆，今年1月自然摄影师曾涌入该区拍摄喜马拉雅秃鹫。“读到消息时我很痛心，”张女士谈及宣布时说。“对那些离它不那么近的人来说，或许会把它当作又一片森林，砍掉盖房没什么大不了。但对我们日落道住宅区的人来说，这是在都市环境中仍能如此贴近自然、体验这份纽带的难得机会。”

她希望当局重新审视计划，保留更多森林。公众可在8月6日前就计划提交反馈。数千人亦已签署要求保留马裕森林的网上请愿。其中最突出的一份致多个政府机构，截至周五傍晚已收集逾17,000个签名。请愿敦促当局“暂停清理”森林，并优先以棕地——如即将到期的高尔夫球场及老化工业用地——作住房用途。长期居民Felicia Koh与Alastair Hunt签署了请愿，他们于2020年从附近公寓迁入面向马裕森林的组屋，以求更近自然。“马裕森林是一座心很大的小森林，”健康实践创办人Hunt先生说。“它虽小却充满活力，为我们提供新鲜空气、凉爽微风、亲近自然的机会，以及身心健康。它给社区内外的人带来喜悦与愉悦……对新加坡这一带而言，它是极宝贵的资源。”Koh女士问当局能否探索其他住房地点。“先用棕地，再动新加坡任何一片森林。过去十年我们已经失去太多。”

其他相互竞争的利益

CNA访问的居民并非人人反对发展。一名不愿具名的长期居民支持重建，认为这是新加坡增长所必需。这名在日落道居住约四十年的男子，在CNA接近他时正沿着一条从马裕森林通往日落道邻里中心的热门步道散步。“新加坡人这么多，土地却有限，”他用华语说。“没办法。”他补充希望能搬进新组屋，因现有组屋楼宇正在老化。另一名住在日落道住宅区底层排屋式单位的居民Raymond Ho表示，他预期森林重建后闯入邻里的猴子会减少。这位79岁居民说，动物偶尔会从阳台进入他的家。其他居民则担忧新居民涌入带来交通拥堵。一条连接日落道与金文泰路、于2024年竣工的新道路，本意是缓解拥堵。在此之前，日落道是进出该区的唯一道路。施工噪音与碎屑亦被提出，但居民称这些相对于失去马裕森林属次要。85岁的Winston Choo于1964年购入日落道有地房产，他表示欣赏森林作为缓冲、保持社区安静的作用。“如果一定要建住房，请设计成不影响这个社区居民的隐私、气流与噪音水平，”这名退休人士说。