TRANSFERABLE DEVELOPMENT RIGHTS: AN EXPLORATORY SCHEME TO CONSERVE POST-WAR BUILDINGS IN SINGAPORE

Abstract

The conservation program of Singapore is moving into its next phase whereby the focus will be to consider the possible conservation of post-war buildings, particularly those built in the post independence period. These buildings faced a dilemma as both the planners and the market have to balance between heritage and economic benefits. Based on economic rationale alone, developers are likely to tear down these post-war buildings for redevelopment to reap the potential higher plot ratio. Given that the planning authority is now moving towards a more flexible stance to incorporate incentive-based approaches in land use planning, it is opportune to explore alternative land use planning tools such as transfer of development rights (TDR) as a supplement to the current conservation program. TDR recognizes the loss in development value of the owners' plots and allows the transfer of the potential gross area of the conserved building to other plots of land to relieve the conservation burden on owners. The conserved building is restricted from future redevelopment in return for the transfer of development rights. In this dissertation, the conceptual and implementation issues of TDR are firstly investigated through overseas case studies. Next, the current planning system in Singapore is studied and the viability and potential to apply such a land-use guidance tool is explored. To demonstrate the implementation issues, a case study of a post-war building, Beverly Mai, is conducted, which extensively discusses the various scenarios presented by alternative redevelopment destinies, and how conservation could be achieved using the TDR mechanism. Lastly, through a series of interviews with representative stakeholders, the potentials and pitfalls of applying such a scheme in Singapore are discussed in detail. The study concluded that the use of TDR is at an exploratory stage, as the different perceptions on the market value of conserved post-war building by the various stakeholders need to be compromised. As a start, it is recommended that the TDR scheme be implemented on a prior basis for sites belonging to the same owner at a modest scale. Nevertheless, TDR potentially can provide alternative options for developers in the innovative usage of land with the view to conserve our built heritage.