Developers eye hills for projects
CONTENTIOUS: Hill slope developments are mushrooming, especially around the Sungai Ara area
GEORGE TOWN: THE it appears like hills in the southern part of Penang island have become the new hotspot for developers despite more residents of Sungai Ara begin to speaking out against hill slope developments there., the it appears like hills in the southern part of Penang island have become the new hotspot for developers.
Following last Sunday's (April 8) protest organised by a group of residents from the Kenari and Kelicap areas against two hill slope developments behind their homes, Streetsthe New Straits Times conducted a check around the hilly Sungai Ara residential area to get a clearer picture of the housing developments there.
There is at least two more hill slope developments in the pipeline near the Taman Sungai Ara.
One is a project to build 33 two-storey terrace houses and 12 two-storey semi-detached units. The developer is also planning to set aside two plots of land for three-storey bungalows.
The new proposed development, which the Penang Island Municipal Council (MPPP) granted planning approval in December 2010, is located between Changkat Sungai Ara 2 and Changkat Sungai Ara 2A, just above a housing estate.
According to a resident, who declined to be named, the development received objections from the residents in 2008 as the project would affect some 80 terrace houses located just below it.
MPPP initially rejected the project in November 2008 on grounds that part of it would be standing on a steep hill slope exceeding 25 degrees gradient and that it would endanger the lives and properties of residents living below the project.
"In late 1999, we had a bad case of flood here. Muddy water from the hill behind us, where the developer now wants to build houses, was washed down into our streets.
"Then in 2008, we had another incident where muddy water from the hill flowed into our homes.
"Just based on our experiences with these two incidents, there was a lot of concern about the proposed project and what it could do to the hill slope," said the resident.
Then in 2009, the developer appealed to the state's Appeals Board, which was led by then chairman Datuk Abdul Rahim Uda.
The board instructed the council to give the developer planning approval with the condition that the developer fulfil all requirements pertaining to safety, maintenance, drainage system, retaining walls and all other safety aspects of the project.
"A group of us here are now trying to appeal against the council's approval. We are still waiting to have our side heard in the Appeals Board," he said, adding that the developer could not do anything to the land for the time being until the matter was resolved.
Another resident also raised concerns that the area was slowly losing its green lung and open spaces for the community to use.
"We learnt that some plots, originally meant to serve as open spaces, were later converted and sold off to private buyers.
"Standing on those few plots now are bungalows," he said, adding that the MPPP should do something to ensure that open spaces were left for the benefit of the people.
Meanwhile, the other hill slope development is located nearby Jalan Sungai Ara 1, where a different developer, who obtained a building plan approval, is building 64 three-storey terrace units.
Sites for hawkers, a community centre and a surau have been allotted for the project as well.
The project did not draw objections from residents nearby as they felt it would not affect them, a man living down the road from the construction site said.
Over the recent years, there have been many hill slope developments on the island, especially in places like Tanjung Bungah and Batu Ferringhi in the north, drawing objections and criticisms from communities in the areas and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs).
Read more: Developers eye hills for projects - Northern - New Straits Times http://www.nst.com.my/streets/northern/developers-eye-hills-for-projects-1.74481#ixzz1sGdx4flh
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