Study proposes retaining sliver of forest earmarked for housing

Nestled in the HomeTeamNS Adventure Centre in Bukit Batok is a young forest earmarked for housing, where a songbird that has been poached close to extinction worldwide has been spotted.

- Ang Qing Correspondent

To limit the impact on the straw-headed bulbul—critically endangered around the world—and other wildlife that live in the plot of land or use it as a pit stop, a new report published on May 19 proposes to retain a patch of the young forest when works for a new neighbourhood begin in Bukit Batok.

The young forest sprung up on land cleared around the 1960s.

Retaining the 0.48ha area—which is smaller than a football field—is among key measures proposed by the environmental impact assessment, which aims to ease the impact of development on Singapore's native flora and fauna.

This is about 9 per cent of the roughly 5.5ha of existing vegetation on the site, which also includes urban greenery, abandoned orchards and a fragment of scrubland.

The development will also be built on the land occupied by Bukit Batok Driving Centre, a former heavy vehicle park and a driving range.

The planned neighbourhood of about 14.5ha at the junction of Bukit Batok Road and Bukit Batok West Avenue 5 has mainly been set aside for future housing since 2014.

The environmental impact assessment was commissioned by the National Parks Board (NParks) on behalf of the Housing Board to guide planning in the area.

The aim of retaining the area is for it to continue to serve as a "stepping stone" for wildlife moving from Singapore's western forests to the central nature reserves, even after most of the vegetation is cleared for housing.