Woodlands is a town northern of Singapore, comprising four distinctive housing estates; a constituency in the Sembawang GRC ; part of the North West Community Development Council (CDC) district, at the northernmost point of Singapore.

Woodlands includes a vibrant mix of colours from many towers of Housing and Development Board apartments, one of the largest shopping malls in Singapore, the Causeway Point and the first school dedicated to nurturing the next generation of sporting talents, the Singapore Sport School . Above all, Woodlands is historically the gateway to Singapore from Malaysia.

Preamble

A town in development, Woodlands is quite an ever-changing town, with its distinct style, apart from the hectic lifestyle familiar in downtown and older parts of Singapore. From the beginning of development during the 70s to expand Marsiling, Woodlands have grown into a huge neighborhood, home to the many different people from all walks of life. Woodlands is strategically situated between Malaysia and the Singapore inland, connecting to the Malaysian city of Johor Bahru, via the Causeway . Woodlands is one the very essence of early development successes in Singapore, becoming today’s model for future transportation, entertainment, leisure and education development within an estate.

Woodlands is a town with different features. Developments were concentrated in the central, southern and eastern portion of the estate, leaving a countryside lifestyle of fresh air, serenity and the privilege of being surrounded by trees in the northern portion.

Large open spaces, grasslands, parks, recreational facilities and communal gardens were found nearly everywhere in Woodlands. Most of the housing apartment blocks were interconnected, providing sheltered pavements throughout an entire division within an estate.

Nonetheless, several larger parks were packed within estates and were escapes to the urban lifestyle. Rich diversity of natural habitats and pleasant environment, these parks were often scenic, though man-made. Woodlands had preserved one that has serve for quite sometime, the Woodlands Town Garden.

Estates

There are four estates within Woodlands, consisting of the estate of Woodlands, Marsiling, Woodgrove and Admiralty, each with their own different traits.

^ Town plan of Woodlands

Woodlands

Woodlands is the primary estate of the town, containing most of the commercial activities, such as Woodlands Square, the commercial hub of the town, consists of buildings and services of high standard. Built on a hill, Woodlands Square consists of a large hectare of grassland, houses the gala events or celebrations at different time of a year; a large mall, Causeway Point, overseeing the Woodlands MRT Station and the Woodlands Civic Centre .

There are a wide range of housing apartment blocks, some of the finest archtectures in town are found in this estate. Woodlands is highly accessible, compared to the other estates in the town. Feeder bus routes runs within the estate daily. Large avenues enable a fast flow of traffic. Woodlands is highly urbanised, however builidings were built a distance away from the roads. That is quite a distinctive style of post-independence Singapore. Buildings are phased closely together, developing in all available spaces.

Marsiling

Woodlands is increasingly an avenue for foreign Asians to the inner urban estates of Singapore. Marsiling presents the past day living patterns of Singapore; a quieter and much denser estate, often offer a rather reasonable and larger alternative to housing options, and house a large quantity of elder citizens and heavy-duty industries.

Marsiling is a large estate compared to Woodlands, which extended from north of Woodlands Square to the Woodlands Checkpoint, bordering Malaysia.

A redevelopment plan of upgrading existing housing apartment blocks were introduced in late 90s, and thereafter a surge in housing prices that come along with a refurbished elevator at all levels, larger apartments per household (a new room added at the rear of the flat) and of course, modernised to meet the standard of the local housing environment. Refer to Modernising Environment.

Marsiling is situated next to the industrial estate, Marsiling Industrial Estate, thus Marsiling became home to a large group of foreign expatriates.

Woodgrove

Woodgrove is the smallest estate in the town.

Towards the north-west-end of the estate; Woodgrove houses some of the private housing in Woodlands, consist of high-rise condominiums and landed properties.

Woodgrove lies in between the estates of Marsiling and Woodlands.

Admiralty

Admiralty kept abreast of contemporary housing in the town. Citizens enjoyed the convenience of a transit station, Admiralty MRT Station, similar to that of Woodlands MRT Station, built solely for the SMRT train fleets. Admiralty offers a rather reasonable quiet and organised housing, with well-designed apartments. Admiralty houses citizens who opt for government housing through the Housing Development Board's plans, instead of purchasing apartments via private agencies, which often costs more however require a shorter waiting time; opting for government housing often takes months to process and only for newly built housing flats.

Admiralty is connected to Sembawang and Yishun via Gambas Avenue ; the Woodlands Industrial Park and Senoko Industrial Park via Woodlands Avenue 10 ; Woodlands Estate via Woodlands Avenue 7 ; Marsiling Estate via Woodlands Square and Woodlands Avenue 3

Woodlands Town Garden

Woodlands Town Garden has a clear and simple agenda, to bring greenery in the right ambience with the mixture of the local ethnicity. The theme of park revolves around the Malay and Chinese culture, and winding through the park is Sungei Mandai Kecil, the river that extends into a lake within the park. Woodlands Town Garden is located near to the Woodlands Customs, in the Marsiling estate.

Amenities

Woodlands is diverse during the day and well-lit in the night. Shops, eateries and commercial zones were evenly spread through the town, with bus and transit routes operating till the midnight.

Modernising environment

Divisions within estates are being rapidly modernised and modelled for the standard of Singapore; playgrounds, communal gardens, sheltered pavements, multi-storeys parking lots, barbeque-pits, recreational facilities (such as tennis courts) and trees were found nearly everywhere.

Standard of living

The standard of living in Woodlands is far higher compared to other parts of Singapore, which might have started development after Woodlands did. All households were connected to water, power and gasoline supply and nearly all households have access to public television, telephone and cable services. Assistance regarding public utilities and services (such as lifts and public lightings) were constantly available.

Education institutions

Educational institutions are evenly distributed throughout the estate. From newly founded schools to full-fledged ones, Woodlands has several top educational institutions in the Northern region. Schools in Woodlands are allocated into the N5 and N7 clusters.

There were 12 primary schools and 10 secondary schools spread throughout the town. Kindergartens and nurseries could be found in the void decks of housing apartment blocks

Singapore's first sport school, Singapore Sports School , is an independent boarding school with some of the finest sport facilities, and is located in Woodlands Avenue 2 .

Singapore's fourth polytechnic, Republic Polytechnic , will be situated in Woodlands Avenue 9 when construction is complete in 2007. Woodlands will gain a new Junior College as well in January 2005, when Innova Junior College welcomes its first batch of students at 21 Champions Way , next to Woodlands Avenue 2 .

Woodlands Regional Library , the largest library in Singapore at the time of launch, is operated by the National Library Board, NLB . The 4 storeys public library caters to all ages. Different storeys of the library are categorised according to themes of general, reference, teens and children.

Commercial & leisure

Causeway Point, one of the largest shopping malls in Singapore, houses 250 shops and various outlets. Woodlands Civic Centre is a designated center of education, public services and other forms of assistance for residents. The centre houses the Woodlands Regional Library , several banks, CPF Woodlands Branch, numerous merchandise and educational institutions.

Sport

Sport is an emerging emphasis in the Singaporean society. Sporting facilities could be easily located around the estates and especially in parks. The multi-purpose stadium, the Woodlands Stadium and Woodlands Swimming Complex were common places for sport-goers.

Attractions

Experimental style of architecture found their ways into Woodlands, making the town a place of wonders and colours. From the early practical designs to the modern day exquisite luxury, housing apartment blocks are no longer as plain as it sounds; with the garnish of parks, communal gardens and decors, these blocks were pieces of art and style themselves. The centrepiece of the town, Woodlands Square, attracts a constant flow of travelers and shoppers daily. Tireless planning and redevelopment keeps the town modernised.

Places of worship

Places of Worship were blended pleasantly into the town. Some of the most established places of worship in Singapore were found around Woodlands.

• An-nur Mosque
• Sri Siva Krishna Temple
• Woodlands Evangelical Free Church

Accessibility

Woodlands is highly accessible, connected by major roads and expressways, with a relatively large underground bus terminal and an elevated MRT station next to Causeway Point. Woodlands' feeder bus routes are operated by SMRT Buses; MRT service is operated by SMRT Trains.

Residents of Woodlands are serviced by 3 of newest MRT station built for the SMRT Train fleet, at the centre of the suburb, Woodlands MRT Station; north of the suburb, Marsiling MRT Station and Southeast of the suburb, Admiralty MRT Station. The regional bus interchange was relocated from the previous Town Centre, Woodlands Town Centre , to the current town centre at Woodlands Square.

Woodlands consists of a rich amount of well-maintained roads; a common sight in Singapore. 12 avenues supports and circulates the entire traffic within the town, especially Avenue 2 , 5 , 7 , 9 and 10 . Avenue 2 is a shorter route from the older estates of the town to the Bukit Timah Expressway.

Avenue 3 connects Marsiling from the exit of Bukit Timah Expressway branching into Woodlands Centre Road , the sole road to the checkpoint of Woodlands Customs, and the rest of Avenue 3 maintains a similar route of the MRT line from Marsiling MRT Station to Woodlands MRT Station , which connects to Woodlands Square. As the avenue ends at the entrance of the slope of Woodlands Square [Road] (the road that circulates Woodlands Square), another end starts the Woodlands Avenue 7, which connects Woodlands to Admiralty, also the route of the MRT line from Woodlands MRT Station to Admiralty MRT Station .

Divisions within estates are further connected and regulated by 2 or single lane roads called Streets, which are distinguished by a suffix of double-digit numbers, such as Woodlands Street 82 and Woodlands Street 83. This is a common practice before the late 90s. Drives are 2 or single lane roads, that are built for newer divisions within an estate, similar to that of the streets.

Links and Crescents are often 3, 2 or single lane roads that convey commuters from a main road to another main road, such as the Woodlands Link , which connects Woodlands Avenue 9 to the main roads in the Woodlands Industrial Park.

Crescents connect main roads to streets or drives.

External links

General

• North West Community Development Council
• Sembawang Town Council
• Woodlands Town Park

Sport

• Woodlands Wellington FC

Education

• Republic Polytechnic
• Singapore Sports School
• N5 Cluster
• N7 Cluster
• Singapore American School