17700 public suggestions gathered for Jurong Lake Gardens strongly support key design principles

Today, Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Deputy Prime Minister & Coordinating Minister for Economic and Social Policies, announced the results of the Jurong Lake Gardens (JLG) public engagement exercise. More than 17,700 suggestions had been gathered, reflecting strong support for the Gardens’ four key design principles of preserving nature & memories, co-creating show gardens, integrating science & nature and vibrant programming. The public engagement exercise drew to a close in May 2015, and development of JLG will be progressing into the next stage.

JLG, Singapore’s new national gardens in the heartlands, demonstrates Singapore’s commitment to make quality spaces for leisure accessible to all segments of the community. It is envisioned to be a people’s garden, where spaces will be sensitively landscaped and created for families and the community to come together. This will strengthen the special meaning that parks and gardens hold in the lives of Singaporeans. It is also envisioned as a green space where community gardening takes centre stage. The 90-hectare JLG will comprise:

• JLG West (renamed from Jurong Lake Park);
• JLG Central (consisting of the Chinese and Japanese Gardens); and
• JLG East (consisting of the grounds of the new Science Centre which will be integrated into the new Gardens).

The Gardens will be developed in phases, and implementation plans will dovetail with the greater plans for the Jurong Lake District. However, residents will not need to wait long before they can start enjoying what the Gardens has to offer. The development of JLG West will commence early next year in JLG’s first phase of development, and is scheduled for completion in 2018.

The design of JLG West had been conceptualised based on the first round of public feedback obtained in 2012 during NParks’ public engagement exercise for the City in a Garden vision. NParks had announced in 2012 that it would be developing Destination Parks to attract Singaporeans from all over the island, and Jurong Lake Park (renamed JLG West), had been identified as one of three Destination Parks to be developed.

Taking into account feedback received during the recent public consultation exercise, parts of JLG West will remain open to the public throughout its development so that residents can continue recreational activities like jogging and walking and to allow access to the Chinese and Japanese Gardens before development commences in these two Gardens. JLG Central (Chinese and Japanese Gardens) and JLG East will be progressively completed from 2020 onwards.

Following Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s announcement of JLG in 2014, NParks had continued its active engagement with various segments of stakeholders through a variety of platforms to gather suggestions and feedback on what this new people’s garden could be like (See Media Factsheet A for details). Common suggestions gathered at the recent engagement exercise include preserving the tranquillity of the area, retaining existing nature and biodiversity hotspots, provision of ample basic amenities, accessibility for elderly and the handicapped, affordable food and beverage options, and careful traffic planning to mitigate potential road congestion.

“It is really good to see how so many people had suggestions for Jurong Lake Gardens. NParks has taken their ideas and preferences seriously, including the desire of most to see the Gardens’ natural ambience and tranquility retained, while creating new spaces that will greatly enlarge the park and give us all more opportunity to be close to nature. It will be a wonderful place for everyone, and for families and the community,” said DPM Tharman.

Following this, NParks will be calling a tender for the design consultancy for JLG's next phase of development.

The announcement was made at the Clean & Green SG50 (CG SG50) Mass Tree Planting by Taman Jurong Constituency. The CG SG50 Mass Tree Planting Project is an initiative to plant over 5,000 trees from August to December 2015 in celebration of Singapore’s Jubilee. DPM Tharman and Minister Lawrence Wong, Chairman of Jurong Lake District Steering Committee and Minister for National Development, together with the community, planted 50 trees at the site of the upcoming JLG West.  Today’s tree planting is a first step in involving the community in the development of JLG. (See Media Factsheet B for details)