More green spaces go public

SINGAPORE - Can't find a field to play sports like football or to hold an outdoor activity? Here's some good news.

The Singapore Land Authority (SLA) is opening more fields for public use.

They are located in former schools and educational institutions, the SLA said yesterday in a statement.

Three sites have been identified so far. The first one, available for use from today, is the field at the former Manjusri Secondary School, located at 149 Sims Drive. The field measures 9,084 sq m in size, which is slightly larger than a football field.

The other two sites, slated to open at the end of September, are at the former ITE Clementi and ITE Tampines, at 6 Lempeng Drive and 2 Tampines Street 92, respectively.

The fields will be open 24 hours a day, and will be free for use until they are due for redevelopment.

No advance booking is required, and they are to be used on a non-exclusive basis. This means the fields should not be used only for specific purposes, and could be used for a variety of activities, from football to picnic gatherings.

Works to improve the sites - such as grass-cutting and creating access points to the fields only, and not to the rest of the sites - are being done to prepare the fields for public use.

Account manager Nolan Ovinis, 36, was glad that more fields will be open for use. "It will be good because, in Singapore, it is hard to find space to play football and players have to book pitches," he said.

Vacant plots of state land which the SLA has opened since 2003 include the old Bukit Timah Railway Station, and ones along Tanjong Rhu Road and Nicoll Highway.

So far, some 282 plots of vacant state land have been opened to the public for free.

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