Petitions launched to protect Gillman and Maju forests amid plans for new housing
As Singapore continues to build more homes, plans to develop forested land at Gillman Barracks and Sunset Way have prompted concerns over what could be lost in the process.
Two petitions calling for the preservation of Gillman Forest and Maju Forest have collectively attracted more than 30,000 signatures as of writing.
Source: Change.org
While both acknowledge Singapore’s need for housing, the petitioners argue that development should not come at the expense of the country’s remaining forests, wildlife habitats, and community spaces.
“New housing should not come at the expense [of] Singapore’s dwindling forests and unique community havens,” the Gillman petition states.
Parts of Gillman Barracks being studied for housing
Gillman Barracks sits near the Greater Southern Waterfront (GSW), where about 1,000ha of land will be freed up after the Tanjong Pagar and Pasir Panjang container terminals relocate to Tuas.
URA plans to transform the area into a waterfront district with homes, workplaces, and recreational spaces.
Source: Housing & Development Board via Urban Redevelopment Authority
The proposed Gillman Barracks development covers about 40ha and includes developed land, grassland, urban vegetation, forest streams, and several types of secondary forest.
An environmental impact assessment recorded 293 plant species and 178 animal species, including 22 plant and 11 animal species of conservation significance.
The habitats also form links between surrounding green spaces, including Telok Blangah Hill Park, Labrador Nature Reserve, Berlayar Creek, Kent Ridge Park, and HortPark.
Under the proposed plans, most areas identified as having high ecological value would be retained.
A new 30m-wide green corridor would also be created to support wildlife movement towards Berlayar Creek.
Source: NParks on Facebook
However, petitioners remain concerned that clearing and fragmenting the forest could weaken its cooling effect and reduce spaces currently used for sport and recreation.
They have also highlighted Gillman Barracks’ heritage value.
Built as a British military complex in the 1930s, the site later served as the headquarters of the Singapore Armed Forces School of Combat Engineering.
A heritage impact assessment described it as a “rare and well-preserved example of colonial military planning in Singapore”, adding that it continues to hold meaning through “collective identity, memory, and shared experience”.
Source: Gillman Barracks Art on Facebook
Agencies are studying the retention of all four buildings assessed as having “exceptional” heritage significance, along with 21 of the 27 buildings rated “high”.
Gillman Forest has also gained international recognition through art.
Robert Zhao Renhui’s ‘Seeing Forest’, which represented Singapore at the 2024 Venice Biennale, explored the relationship between nature and culture, although it is not explicitly stated that the work was based on Gillman Forest itself.
As of writing, the petition to preserve Gillman Barracks and its surrounding forest had received more than 9,700 signatures.
Maju Forest is home to critically endangered wildlife
Over in Clementi, Maju Forest lies beside the Old Jurong Line, a former railway route that has not carried trains for decades.
The forest supports diverse flora and fauna, including the globally critically endangered straw-headed bulbul and Sunda pangolin, both of which have been documented in government environmental studies covering the area.
The latest Sunset Way assessment recorded 113 animal species, including the straw-headed bulbul, while an earlier Cross Island Line study identified both species in Maju Forest.
Source: Birds of Singapore, for illustration purposes only
On 10 July 2026, the Housing and Development Board (HDB) announced plans to develop part of the approximately 23ha Sunset Way study area for public housing.
About 8ha would be retained, mostly around the forest’s edges, leaving roughly 15ha potentially affected by development.
The retained area is intended to preserve ecological connectivity, provide refuge for wildlife, and protect part of the Old Jurong Line, a freshwater stream, and some native-dominated secondary forest.
However, HDB chief town planner Chong Fook Loong has stressed that the plan is “not final”, adding that the agency hopes to continue working with residents and other stakeholders.
Source: @brice.li.12 on Instagram
Rather than calling for all housing plans to be abandoned, the petitioners want the authorities to prioritise previously developed land and consider renewing an ageing housing precinct near the future Maju MRT station.
“We are not asking Singapore to choose nature over homes,” the petition states. “We are asking it to build on the land it has already spent and stop spending the land it can never get back.”
Supporters are also urged to submit feedback directly to HDB and write to their MPs before the public consultation closes on 6 Aug 2026.
The forest cannot speak at a consultation. The pangolin cannot sign this. The bulbul can only sing. So we must.
As of Wednesday (22 July), the petition had attracted more than 23,500 verified signatures.
Past cases show public feedback can matter
The Gillman and Maju petitions are part of a wider conversation about how Singapore balances housing needs with nature conservation.
Other forested areas, including Tengah and parts of Bukit Timah Turf City, have also made way for development, although some green spaces were retained within the plans.
Dover Forest, however, showed that public feedback can influence how projects are shaped.
In 2021, more than 50,000 people signed a petition calling for its preservation, while HDB received nearly 1,800 submissions through its official feedback channel.
The issue was subsequently raised in Parliament, and plans were revised to defer development of the more biodiverse western half until around 2030, with a sizeable nature park safeguarded as an ecological connector.
Also read: Dover Forest East Now Cleared Of Greenery, Nature Lovers Sad Over Loss Of Trees
Dover Forest East Now Cleared Of Greenery, Nature Lovers Sad Over Loss Of Trees
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Featured image adapted from Change.org and @brice.li.12 on Instagram.
