Tag Archives: Enbloc

I APPLAUD Monday’s well-argued commentary, ‘En bloc debate, HK style’, which highlighted the disparity between Hong Kong’s code of practice for collective property sales and that in Singapore where the rights of minority secondary proprietors are plainly prejudiced in comparison.

I particularly admire that quotation from a South China Morning Post correspondent: ‘The powers to compulsorily take away private homes are a draconian statutory provision that should be vested only in government – and used only for a defined purpose. Making a profit for developers is not a public purpose.’

I also endorse the environmental concerns of Hong Kong over the needless destruction of good architecture with perhaps decades of useful longevity ahead, and the subsequent costly redevelopment of any such site. For example, I would welcome the introduction of a 50-year age limit before any development could be considered for collective sale; that would at least relieve me of the incessant worry of enforced eviction from my Continue reading →

I REFER to Monday’s report, ‘En bloc debate, HK style’, which mentions, inter alia, that Singapore is two-thirds the size of Hong Kong. This means the Republic has a smaller buffer of land and cannot afford to leave decaying buildings untouched for long.

Older Singaporeans remember with dismay the 1960 and 1970s when the Government had a policy of ‘Stop at two’ and made it clear that parents who ignored the campaign to limit family size to just two children would have to pay the price financially.

The principal reason for this unpopular policy was Singapore’s land size. If I recall, the optimum population that could be comfortably accommodated was about three million.

However, that policy has proven over the years that Nature knows best and Singaporeans began to be concerned about the declining rate of Continue reading →