New guidelines on land use for religious activities
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SINGAPORE: With immediate effect, religious organisations will be allowed to make use of industrial space for their activities.
The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) and the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS) on Tuesday issued new guidelines on land development and use of space for religious activities.
The latest guidelines allow religious groups to make use of industrial premises zoned Business 1 for their activities on a limited and non-exclusive basis.
B1 zones are areas for industry, warehouse, utilities and telecommunication uses.
To ensure that the function and character of industrial premises are not compromised or displaced by religious activities, religious organisations and property owners must observe certain conditions.
The premises cannot be owned by or exclusively leased to religious organisations. They should be available for rental for other events such as industrial training, talks and conferences.
There shall be no display of signage, advertisements or posters of the religious use at the premises or on the building exterior.
The premises should not be furnished to resemble a worship hall and there shall be no display of religious symbols, icons or any religious paraphernalia when it is not in use by the religious organisation.
Religious organisations that are currently using industrial premises for religious activities will be granted a three-year grace period to comply with the guidelines.
In addition, the guidelines also provide for the maximum allowable plot ratio and storey height for sites zoned for Place of Worship to be incrementally relaxed.
This gives religious organisations greater scope to expand their premises and grow their space to cater to their needs.
For places of worship located at the fringe of landed and low-density housing areas, for example, the gross plot ratio will be revised from the current 1.0 to 1.4, allowing buildings of up to four-storeys high.
Those located within housing estates and areas with gross plot ratio beyond 1.4, industrial and other non-housing areas, will see their gross plot ratio increased from 1.4 to 1.6, allowing a building height of up to five storeys.
MCYS and URA said the government continues to pay close attention to the changing needs of religious communities on the ground and to gather feedback on the issue.
Different religious bodies have been consulted in the development of the new guidelines.
The government will review or clarify guidelines consultatively to meet emerging needs, and where possible, allow for more flexible land use.
- CNA/al -
In Singapore you can only do what is permissible.
If it is not mentioned, then it is not permissible.
Those not permissible are definitely not permissible.
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Ain't there enough places for worship already?
This is the kind of issue people should be objecting against !
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i wonder does singapore accept wiccan and satanism..
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More religious organisations apply to expand premises
SINGAPORE: Some religious organisations are looking to expand their premises, following the government's relaxation of rules on spaces for religious activities.
The San Qing Gong Taoist temple, located in Bedok, is one of them.
When it was built in 2003, it was only allowed to build to a height of three storeys.
As the area was small, the space was not enough for the temple's needs.
So it welcomes the news, when the Urban Redevelopment Authority and the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports issued new guidelines, which allow for an increase of maximum allowable plot ratio and storey height.
Places of worship at low-density housing areas can increase from three to four storeys.
The temple has applied for permission to build an additional one to two storeys.
Ju Si Lin Buddhist Lodge has also put in an application in January.
It has been using its main hall for 43 years.
It plans to re-construct the main hall, to six storeys, with an additional three storeys underground.
With the expansion, it will be a centre of activity, especially for the elderly living in the area.
- CNA/ck -
so jialat... maybe that's why now ppl find fields to pray at...
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good thing the news only mentioned temples, or laurence troll will start troll slamming christians.
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Originally posted by ^Acid^ aka s|aO^eH~:
so jialat... maybe that's why now ppl find fields to pray at...