Redevelopment of Singapore Turf Club Site and Completion Timelines

26 Ms Hany Soh asked the Minister for National Development with respect to the announcement of the Singapore Turf Club (STC) closure in the press release dated 5 June 2023 (a) whether the Ministry is able to provide an estimated number of houses and the types of leisure and recreation facilities that will be developed on the STC site; and (b) what are the projected timelines for such developments and completions.

27 Ms Hany Soh asked the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance in light of the announcement of the STC closure in the press release dated 5 June 2023, whether the Tote Board has considered alternatives to preserve the sport and leisure traditions of horse racing instead of an outright closure.

28 Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song asked the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance with regard to the staff and trainers who currently work for horse owners but are not employed by the STC, whether they will be supported by the STC and other Government agencies in re-training for other jobs prior to the closure of STC.

The Second Minister for Finance and National Development (Ms Indranee Rajah) (for the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance, and the Minister for National Development): Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, Question Nos 26, 27 and 28 on today's Order Paper relate to the decision to close Singapore Turf Club (STC) and redevelopment plans for the site. I seek your permission to answer these three Parliamentary Questions together as well as the other Parliamentary Questions on this topic, namely Question Nos 3 and 45 for written answer today; and Parliamentary Questions filed by Mr Gerald Giam^1,2, Ms Hany Soh³, Ms Joan Pereira⁴, Mr Sharael Taha^5,6, Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong, Mr Edward Chia Bing Hui⁷ and Mr Gan Thiam Poh⁸ scheduled for subsequent Sittings. Members who filed these Parliamentary Questions for subsequent Sittings may wish to withdraw their respective Parliamentary Questions if their queries are sufficiently addressed today.

Mr Deputy Speaker: Yes, please.

Ms Indranee Rajah: The decision to close STC was not an easy decision, nor was it made lightly. Given Singapore's small size and land constraints, the Government continually reviews our land use plans to meet present and future needs. At the same time, local horse racing has also experienced declining spectatorship over the years.

In developing our long-term land use strategies and plans, the Government has actively engaged the public to understand their needs and aspirations. These engagements have strongly affirmed that we need more land for housing, as well as a diversity of spaces for leisure and recreation, to provide a quality living environment for Singaporeans. With the demand for more land for housing and the declining spectatorship for local horse racing, the Government made the difficult decision to redevelop the STC site to better meet our future needs.

Mr Gerald Giam asked whether the use of the Singapore Racecourse site under the current Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) Master Plan has been revised to include housing. At the Committee of Supply debate earlier this year, the Ministry of National Development (MND) announced that we have started on our Draft Master Plan review, which will take place over the next two to three years. The Government intends to update the revised land use for the site to include housing in the upcoming Master Plan.

Ms Hany Soh and Mr Louis Chua asked about the redevelopment plans for the site. The site will be holistically developed to meet the increasing demand for housing, including public housing, as well as leisure and recreation.

This is part of a larger overall plan for the North Region. URA will consider how the site can be developed: (a) to create a distinct identity for the precinct, taking into account its unique characteristics; and (b) to build on the green character of our North Region and the site's proximity to major parks and nature areas such as the Sungei Buloh Wetlands Reserve, Mandai Mangroves and Mudflats, Lim Chu Kang Agri-Food cluster, and the Mandai Wildlife Reserve attractions.

Work on the revised land use plan, as well as infrastructure design and planning for the site, will take place over the next three to four years before the Government takes over the site in 2027, so that land preparation and redevelopment can commence thereafter. The Government is studying the potential uses for the site, including the number of dwelling units that can be injected. Details of the redevelopment plan will be made known once the relevant studies and assessments are completed.

Mr Edward Chia asked about timing. The handover of the land and assets of STC is scheduled to be completed by March 2027, which is three and a half years from now. We made the announcement now to give trainers and owners sufficient time to make the necessary arrangements. This also allows them to have several more races, culminating in the Singapore Gold Cup in October 2024.

Ms Hany Soh, Mr Gerald Giam, Mr Sharael Taha and Mr Edward Chia, have asked what assistance will be given to workers affected by the cessation of horse racing. We will make every effort to assist and ease the transition for them.

There are two different groups of workers affected – those employed by STC and those employed by the trainers.

About 350 STC employees are affected. The STC employees will continue to be employed for at least the next 15 months up till October 2024, with some staying until closure in 2027. Upon cessation of their employment, they will receive retrenchment packages in line with the Minister of Manpower (MOM) guidelines. In addition, they will receive job placement assistance, career guidance, skills training and counselling so that they can find new jobs. The National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) has also stepped in to offer support.

The horse trainers employ or engage about another 420 workers. While these are not STC employees, STC will nevertheless lean forward to work with their employers, the trainers, to provide support to these workers and ease their transition. The media had recently reported that some equestrian entities are prepared to offer them jobs. STC will also be extending employment facilitation, skills training and career counselling.

Members have also asked what will happen to the racehorses. There are approximately 700 racehorses. They will have to be rehomed once the races cease. In the meantime, STC has already rolled out support for racehorse owners and trainers for horse maintenance, as well as horse exportation and placement. STC is discussing with owners and trainers what additional support they may need to rehome their horses and will do its best to meet reasonable requests.

Some trainers have highlighted concerns that the owners might abandon their horses. I hope that this is indeed not the case and I would caution any owner against so doing. Owners have the responsibility to look after their horses. It would be an offence under the Animals and Birds Act to abandon their horses or fail to care appropriately for them. STC is committed to working with owners to manage their horses in a responsible manner, such as through rehoming, either overseas or in a stable in Singapore.

Members have also asked about the impact of the closure of STC on equestrian activities in Singapore. While horse racing will cease, other equestrian activities are not affected by STC's closure. Sport Singapore engages regularly with the Equestrian Federation of Singapore which oversees our national team's training. The STC's closure does not affect our national equestrian team's training, which is located at Jalan Mashhor.

On heritage, we recognise the rich history of the Turf Club and the racing community. The National Heritage Board (NHB) will work with STC and stakeholders to capture and commemorate the heritage of STC and local horse racing.

We will make every effort to assist those affected, and to ensure the history and heritage of STC and the racing community is commemorated.

Mr Deputy Speaker: Ms Hany Soh.

Ms Hany Soh (Marsiling-Yew Tee): Thank you, Minister Indranee for the response. Many of my Woodgrove residents are very happy and look forward to the redevelopment of the Kranji Turf Club into more housing and recreational facilities, especially for the young couples. But at the same time, some have given me feedback that they are also rather concerned in terms of the traffic congestion situation that is already happening around that area because of our close proximity to the Checkpoint and also to the various highways.

I am just wondering, for the purposes of this redevelopment, would we be working very closely with the Ministry of Transport (MOT) to ensure that we will look into the additional populations that are coming in, at the same time, addressing the concerns of the traffic congestion there.

The second supplementary question that I have is, that many of my residents have shared with me that they appreciate the many fond memories that they have seen in the culture and the events that have happened at STC. So, I am hoping that for the purposes of this redevelopment, when we establish our distinct identity, we can also look at how we can preserve many of these fond memories, engage the residents around the area to incorporate them into the housing, so that we can allow the future generations to still have some memories in relation to STC.

Ms Indranee Rajah: Mr Deputy Speaker, the answer to both of Ms Hany Soh's supplementary questions is yes. We will be working with MOT to do an impact assessment. In fact, that is one of the reasons why we need these three years before 2027 because you need to look at what are the infrastructure requirements around the place, the road network, the ease of traffic flow. All of these things will be part of the assessments and technical studies that have to be done as part of the land use review and site preparation.

With regard to the second question about whether when it is redeveloped, regard will be had to the heritage, the answer is yes. I think that we are very mindful of identity and heritage of various areas. In the early years when we were doing our redevelopment, we used to clear a lot of things and it was just new buildings coming up. But, increasingly, we have become much more sensitive – not only as a Ministry, but as a population – to our history and heritage. This was very evident when we did the long-term plan review, and that is one of the pillars that has come out of the long-term plan review. You will see this approach; we have said that we will do that for the old Police Academy site, also for Paya Lebar. Similarly, for this site, we will have regard to the heritage.

Mr Deputy Speaker: Mr Gerald Giam.

Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song (Aljunied): I thank the Minister for her comprehensive replies. The Minister said that other Equestrian sports will not be affected. Is there currently any scheme to use retired racehorses for other equestrian sports and, if so, would this supply of horses not be constrained after the Singapore racecourse closes down, leading to higher costs for buying and importing horses for equestrian sports?

Ms Indranee Rajah: On the question of retired racehorses going to other equestrian sports, I think that may have to be directed to the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY) in terms of sports. But I just want to clarify something about these horses. These are racehorses and the majority of them would probably continue racing. So, the question is how to get them to places where they can continue to race. So, exportation would be one of the main strategies to deal with these horses. There are other countries — in fact, the exportation of horses does take place quite regularly.

I understand from STC that every month, there are actually a few. They may go to Malaysia, for example. I think some interest has been expressed in Malaysia in taking some of the racehorses from STC when it closes. Australia is another destination although, for Australia, they take in a smaller number.

So, I think the primary strategy for these racehorses would actually be exportation – to allow them to continue to race if their owners so choose. But obviously, this is a conversation that we are having with the owners to see what they would like to do with the horses. But bottom line, we will find homes for all the horses.

Mr Deputy Speaker: Ms Joan Pereira.

Ms Joan Pereira (Tanjong Pagar): Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. I have one supplementary question for the Minister. With respect to the announcement of the STC dated 5 June 2023, whether all relevant stakeholders have been consulted in the decision-making process and, if not, why was it not undertaken in arriving at this decision?

Ms Indranee Rajah: Mr Deputy Speaker, I thank Ms Pereira for her question. On consultation, there are different types of consultation. With respect to the decision on the land use, what the site should be used for, this is no different from decisions that we make in respect of other sites that are developed for public or other housing, and that is a decision that the Government has to take.

We would not usually go for public consultation on whether or not to take back a particular site. That has to be part of the planning that the Government looks at. But, before the decision was made, we had engaged very widely with Singaporeans at large on land use and this was under the long-term plan review as well as other regular engagements. And one thing which came back very strongly – not just from Singaporeans whom we engaged, but in this House in recent debates – was the need for more housing, in particular, public housing.

So, that was one of the imperatives and drivers as we looked at and reviewed the amount of land available for housing and that informed our decision as to whether to take back this site for housing purposes. But the decision, having been made, what is very important is that all the stakeholders who are affected by the decision need to be assisted with the transition and that includes, as I mentioned earlier, the employees of STC, the trainers, the horse owners, the employees of the trainers and there are some tenants, for example, on the site. Those tenants, for the tenancies like food and beverage and so on, the contractual arrangements with them will be fulfilled and, if there are one or two who may need to be relocated, we will assist with the relocation.

Mr Deputy Speaker: Mr Patrick Tay.

Mr Patrick Tay Teck Guan (Pioneer): I thank the Minister for the response. I just have a few supplementary questions. Firstly, I declare my interest as the Executive Secretary of the Singapore Manual and Mercantile Workers' Union (SMMWU), which is a union overseeing the STC.

Just three worker-related issues. Firstly, the duration of 15 months may be too short for some of those involved and whether we can consider extending that. Second, over and above the retrenchment benefits as well as the various hardship support we are giving through the unions and NTUC, whether some of those who have special needs or requirements can have extra assistance in terms of hardship cases. And finally, as a run-up to this entire lay-off exercise, whether STC can allow in the retraining, reskilling and upskilling for the workers there, to undertake skills training that may not be related to the job, maybe related to a new job, maybe for an extended period, because these workers are still in employment, it is employer-supported, whether the employer can support outside of the normal traditional kind of skills and upskilling.

Ms Indranee Rajah: I thank Mr Tay for those pertinent questions. He raised three points. Let me take them in turn.

With regard to the duration of 15 months, let me explain how that is derived. Fifteen months is the period when we expect the last race to take place. So, the last race to take place would be the Gold Cup next year, in October 2024. Working backwards, if we take back the land in 2027, you need to allow time for horse exportation as well. And horse exportation does not happen just so easily – you need time for quarantine, you need time for vaccination, you need time for transport, you need time to have them rehomed. So, working backwards, it was determined that October next year should be the last race, which means that between now and October, these employees, all of them, whether STC or for the trainers, will actually be able to continue in employment. Then the question is when it stops, because once the last race finishes, in a sense, especially for the trainers, there are no further races. So, there will still be horses to be looked after for exportation, but you would not be preparing for racing, for example. So, the workload is already going to start tapering off.

Exportation is by 2026. So, there is still a period between 2024 and 2026, when there will be a tail off. So, this is something that STC, as well as the trainers, will have to work through with their employees to bring the employment to an end. For STC, as I mentioned earlier, some will have to continue being employed right up to 2027, because the administration staff, whoever is doing payroll, payments and so on, they will still need to be around to do the winding down.

The second point that Mr Tay raised was those employees who may be experiencing hardship and may require extra support. I would certainly encourage them to raise with their employers and with STC if they have special needs or face particular hardship and we will lean forward to assist them.

The third point on whether STC could allow workers to undertake skills training for other jobs, the answer is definitely yes. But I think the real question is: we need to be sensitive to what the workers themselves would like to do. There may be some who are able to find other jobs in the equestrian industry and, if they are able to find them those jobs and they want to continue, that should be very much their choice. But there may be some who may decide to exit the industry and wish to enter a new industry. For those, we would most certainly make every effort to assist them to be reskilled.

Mr Deputy Speaker: Mr Louis Chua.

Mr Chua Kheng Wee Louis (Sengkang): Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. Just two supplementary questions for the Minister. The first is, in relation to the existing Kranji Turf Club as well as the former site of the Turf Club at Bukit Timah, what is the targeted completion date of the first batch of residential properties to be completed over there? The reason why I am asking is because it has been about 20-odd years since the Turf Club relocated from Bukit Timah to Kranji, and I think, over there, there has not been any residential development as yet, even though the land has been earmarked for residential use since Master Plan 98. Hence, the second supplementary question is: can there be provisions to extend the closure of the Kranji Turf Club should there be delays in other processes?

Ms Indranee Rajah: I thank Mr Chua for his supplementary questions. Mr Chua's question actually covers two different sites – one is the Kranji Turf Club and the other is the Bukit Timah Turf Club, now known as Turf City. Let me deal with each in turn.

For the Kranji Turf Club, this is something that has been earmarked for immediate development. So, if you have an extension, it is going to push back the plans to be able to develop the area immediately. And I think that, given the shortage in housing, if you push back and you extend it, it is going to push back the housing programme for the houses that can be built in the Kranji area. And the question is: extend for what purpose?

So, if it is extended just to have more races, although it may not seem so, but that actually would not really help, in the sense that—consider this: the announcement has already been made. You already know that the operations are going to come to an end with respect to racing. It is not going to increase the number of people coming, which was already on a downward trajectory. So, actually, the best approach is to use the time between 2024, with the last race, and 2027, to rehome the horses, export them, find jobs for the employees and do an orderly winding down and not hold back the housing programme.

Bukit Timah, though, is a different proposition. So, let me just run through for Bukit Timah because Bukit Timah, when it was taken back, primarily at that time, the reasons why it was taken back was twofold – one was the disamenities. I am not sure whether Members were around at that time in this Chamber, but I think there were quite a lot of complaints about traffic and other disamenities caused. Let me see if I can find, just to give Members a flavour of what was said at that time. So, it was a "push" factor when STC was relocated from Bukit Timah.

There was a letter, I think, that came in 1998, where a resident wrote in to the Forum Page to say, "The traffic situation has worsened along Dunearn Road on race days, specifically between the Turf Club entrance and Clementi Road junction. The heavy vehicle flow is impeded by turnings into Swiss Club Road and the best solution for the Turf Club is move to another site, away from the residential zone, as reported in The Straits Times some time ago. I hope that Bukit Turf Club committee is seriously searching for an alternative site." And then, it goes on to make a lot more complaints about the traffic situation and it was signed off as "Long-suffering Citizen". [Please refer to "Clarification by Second Minister for Finance and National Development", Official Report, 3 July 2023, Vol 95, Issue 105, Correction By Written Statement section.]

And questions were also raised in Parliament at that time, Mr Dhanabalan, who was the Minister for National Development, mentioned that they would have to think about relocating Turf Club, Dr Richard Hu, who was the Finance Minister at that time, also made the same point.

The other issue that came up was whether or not the Bukit Timah Turf Club site was best used for horse racing, given that it was a prime land. And questions were raised in Parliament about that as well. So, the approach back in 1998/1999 was that Bukit Timah Turf Club was moved out of Bukit Timah because of the disamenities that it was causing and because that was not the best use for that land, and it was given the Kranji site in replacement.

But at that time, what we did was we earmarked it as land reserved for housing, but not for immediate development. So, that is why it was reflected in the 1998 Master Plan as for housing. And, I think now, as our housing programme picks up pace, we will be looking at developing it. But, before you do that, you have to do infrastructure and road networks. You cannot just build a housing development there and then not have all the surrounding infrastructure, services, amenities and so on. I think as Members would know, one of the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) stations, which has just been announced, would be at that site. I think that one is scheduled for completion in the 2031/2032; around there.

So, the short answer is, it will be developed, there will be housing, but we need to build up the surrounding infrastructure and road network first.

Mr Deputy Speaker: We have been on this topic for quite a while. So, the last supplementary question, Assoc Prof Jamus Lim.

Assoc Prof Jamus Jerome Lim (Sengkang): Thank you, Deputy Speaker. If I may just build off the question by Member Joan Pereira about stakeholder consultations and in light of press reports that indicate that many stakeholders expressed surprise and dismay at the decision, I am wondering if the Ministers are willing to share if a formal stakeholder consultation process will now be undertaken with residents in the neighbourhood, with regard to future plans for this Turf Club site; and more generally, if the notion of a stakeholder consultation process for any major Government decisions with public policy implications will be weaved into more standard practice?

Ms Indranee Rajah: I thank Assoc Prof Lim for his Parliamentary Questions. I think the answer to the first one is, yes. Immediately after the announcement, STC actually embarked on engagement with the trainers and the horse owners. It is an ongoing conversation because as you can imagine, when the announcement was first made, many were, shall we say, it came out of the blue? So, it is taking some time to adjust to the announcement and obviously with the employees as well.

With respect to the surrounding area, there is not a lot of residential in the immediate vicinity, but it is part of the Housing & Development Board (HDB)'s normal consultations when they ask people, what would you like for your town or for your area? So, that will take place.

And on the second part, I think Assoc Prof Jamus Lim asked when would we consult. I think that we have actually been doing a lot of that. For example, Acts, Bills, some of them, in fact, majority of them are put out for public consultation; when we have the Remaking our Heartlands exercise, for example, that is put out for public engagement, consultation ideas and suggestions; when we do placemaking, the long-term plan review was one such.

So, I think that there is a category where it is sensitive, meaning, market-sensitive and you would not normally go out and say, "can I have public consultation on whether I want to do land acquisition?" That is a category that you would not do public consultation on. But your decision in deciding whether or not to do the land acquisition maybe a result of previous consultations, on feedback, on congestion, on what people want and so on. So, the short answer is we will do as much public consultation as we can.

Mr Deputy Speaker: We move on.