Overview
- HDB released full environmental and heritage reports on July 10 and opened a public feedback window running until Aug 6 to inform final development and mitigation measures.
- The reports say about 15 hectares at Sunset Way and at least 10 hectares at Gillman Barracks could be cleared while roughly 8 hectares of Maju Forest would be retained to serve as refuge and movement space for wildlife.
- Proposed mitigation includes directional phased clearance, plant salvage, retention of a freshwater stream, and ecological corridors with a minimum width of 30 metres to preserve connectivity.
- Nature groups including the Nature Society Singapore and LepakInSG warn these measures may not prevent irreversible loss of native-dominated secondary forest or displacement of conservation-significant species such as the straw-headed bulbul and Sunda pangolin.
- Recent precedent and next steps matter: 3.6 hectares were cleared in 2024 for Brookvale Drive, NParks will review environmental management plans, and housing yield and timeline will be decided after agencies consider public feedback.