New design guidelines for privately-owned public spaces from April 24: URA

WITH effect from April 24, 2017, owners and developers of private developments that need to provide a public space, as well as those seeking to get gross floor area exemption for their first-storey covered public space, will have to comply with the minimum standards in a new set of design guidelines.

Some of the design guidelines include specifications on how large the public space area needs to be, its accessibility, as well as the need to provide shade and public seating catering to different users.

This move is to incentivise and guide the provision of privately-owned public space and to promote more good-quality public spaces in the city, Singapore's Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) said in a professional circular to the industry. It also sent them a "good practice guide" they can refer to.

The agency encouraged all property owners, developers and professionals to adopt these guidelines from project inception and design, to management and use of the space by the public, adding that the recommendations included in the good practice guide will be considered when it assesses development applications.

Sometimes, new sites are required to build public spaces as part of the technical conditions of the tenders under the government land sales programme.

Other times, when sites are redeveloped, they are required to build public spaces as part of the planning conditions for major alterations and additions works or redevelopment proposals.