Would anyone want to live right next to a noisy train track? For Dover resident Kelvin Leong, the answer – and the choice between clearing a shady forest around an MRT station or building on empty plots of land in nearby Ghim Moh, for the same objective of new public housing – is clear. The vacant sites, highlighted by the area’s MP Christopher de Souza on Feb 1 in a parliamentary motion to preserve Dover Forest, sit around the popular Ghim Moh market and food centre. There is a bus terminal, Ulu Pandan CC and Star Vista shopping mall close by, Mr Leong, 41, pointed out. Residents like him, property analysts and urban planners were largely supportive of alternative ideas that have been made in recent weeks, following concern over announcements in Dec that some BTO flats would be launched this year in Ulu Pandan, where the forest is located. Dr Harvey Neo, programme head at the Lee Kuan Yew Centre for Innovative Cities at the SUTD, said Mr de Souza’s mention of Sers distracted from an otherwise commendable proposal.... Continue Reading