Compromise reached over Safra golf course

By Lydia Lim
HOUSING CORRESPONDENT

NATURE lovers and golfers have reached

a compromise over Safra's new golf course in Kranji.

The 18-hole course, Singapore's 23rd, will be pushed back some 60 m from the edge of the Kranji Reservoir to protect the marshes that serve as feeding grounds for birds, which include several endangered species.

The Nature Society of Singapore had asked that the boundary of the course be pushed some 200 m inland, but after discussions with the National Service Resort and Country Club (NSRCC), which will manage the course, and the Urban Redevelopment Authority, a compromise was reached.

At a press briefing yesterday, the society's president, Dr Geh Min, said she was happy with the outcome.

To protect the plants and animals at the site, the NSRCC will also be putting in place several measures recommended by its consultants, associate professors Navjot Sodhi and Hugh Tan of the National University of Singapore's Department of Biological Sciences.

These include:

• Building a protective bund for the marshland at the reservoir's edge;
    
• Retaining plants in certain areas;
    
• Replanting native trees and shrubs to create migration connectors for the animals to move from one part of the course to another;
    
• Introducing new ponds and marshes as part of the design.

To ensure that members of the public can also enjoy the area, NSRCC will be working with the National Parks Board to create a nature trail, a first for a local golf course.

The plan is to have a boardwalk that connects the Kranji site to the nearby Sungei Buloh Nature Reserve.

During the construction of the golf course, which will start by the end of this year, some of the birds may leave the area, said NSRCC vice-president Lee Yuen Hee.

However, he was confident that the birds would return, as they had to the Safra golf course in Changi.