Save Gillman Forest

Gillman Forest has stood for generations. Within months, a decision could be made to clear it. And once a mature forest is lost, no amount of replanting brings it back. Add your voice today, and help us keep Gillman standing for generations to come.

Feedback to HDB by 6 Aug 2026Takes 5 minutes. Carries more weight. Closes on 6 August. Sign the petition

What clearing Gillman would destroy

Gillman is not empty land. It is a mature forest decades in the making that cannot be recreated, a living link between Berlayer Creek, Labrador and the Southern Ridges, and one of Singapore’s most effective natural cooling landscapes. It is a sanctuary where people walk, breathe and restore their health, and one of the rare places where heritage, art and nature meet. Clear it, and none of it comes back.

Aerial view of the forest canopy and an elevated walkway along the Southern Ridges near Gillman

A mature secondary forest

Decades of natural regeneration that cannot simply be recreated.

Wildlife habitat and ecological connectivity

A vital link between Berlayer Creek, Labrador Nature Reserve and the Southern Ridges.

Natural cooling and cleaner air

One of Singapore’s most effective natural urban cooling landscapes.

A sanctuary for people

Daily access to walking, forest bathing, birdlife and restorative green space.

Health and wellbeing

Proven benefits for physical health, mental wellbeing and quality of life.

Gillman Barracks’ unique identity

A rare place where heritage, arts and nature exist together.

An irreplaceable legacy

Once cleared, these ecological and community values cannot be fully restored.

Two ways to be counted

Make your voice count

QR code linking to the Change.org petition to save Gillman Barracks and Forest

Sign the petition

No deadline

Open petition

QR code linking to the HDB feedback form

Feedback to HDB

closes 6 August 2026

Open HDB form

Events

The Gillman forest walk has just re-opened

Watch out for upcoming events to be announced soon

Date, time and meeting place to be confirmed — details and a map will appear here.

Letters & reports

If you have a letter you would like to send, here are the contacts of the MPs covering Tanjong Pagar GRC and key decision maker Minister.

Name	Constituency	Government position	Email address
Chan Chun Sing	Buona Vista	Coordinating Minister for Public Services and Minister for Defence	chan_chun_sing@mindef.gov.sg
Alvin Tan Sheng Hui	Moulmein-Cairnhill	Minister of State for Trade and Industry, and National Development	alvin.tan@pap.org.sg
Joan Pereira	Henderson-Dawson	Member of Parliament	joan.pereira@pap.org.sg
Foo Cexiang	Tanjong Pagar-Tiong Bahru	Minister of State	Foo.Cexiang@pap.org.sg
Rachel Ong	Telok Blangah	Member of Parliament	rachel.ong@pap.org.sg
Grace Fu		Minister for Sustainability and the Environment	grace_fu@mse.gov.sg

Report

The dialogue

The dialogue with our Ministers, MPs and the representatives of HDB, URA, NParks and MSE is ongoing. Here is where it stands.

26 July 2026

Gillman Barracks and Forest Community Forum. Residents gathered for a community-led dialogue on the future of Gillman.

See photos ↓

30 July 2026

Get-together and dialogue with MP Rachel Ong and representatives of HDB, URA and NParks.

See details ↓

1 August 2026

Dialogue with MP David Hoe, MP Lee Hui Ying and the Nature Society on how Environmental Impact Assessments are commissioned, and what residents want asked in Parliament.

See details ↓

Ongoing

Agencies have said they will revert in the coming months. Updates will be posted here.

26 July 2026 · Gillman Barracks and Forest Community Forum

Residents came together for a community-led dialogue, “The Future of Gillman Barracks”, to understand the plans and share their views ahead of the sessions with the planning agencies.

Residents seated around tables at the Gillman Barracks and Forest community forum

A resident speaking into a microphone at the forum, before a slide reading The Future of Gillman Barracks: A Community Dialogue

30 July 2026 — dialogue with MP Rachel Ong and representatives of HDB, URA and NParks

A resident presenting a poster titled Getting the Balance Right at the 30 July feedback session

1 August 2026 — dialogue with MP David Hoe, MP Lee Hui Ying and the Nature Society

A session at EtonHouse, Orchard Road, hosted by the Young PAP Advisers and moderated by a member of the Nature Society, held under Chatham House rules. It opened with an explanation of how an Environmental Impact Assessment is commissioned and what it covers, then moved to open questions and four smaller discussion groups.

Recurring themes from the floor:

The four-week feedback window is too short for a report of this size, and is the same regardless of how large the development is.
An EIA is commissioned only after the decision to redevelop has been made, so it can mitigate but not reconsider. The Nature Society noted there is no precedent for such a decision being reversed, and that the time to be heard is during Master Plan brainstorming — while adding that feedback through the HDB channel is still worth giving.
The assessment covers flora and fauna but not urban heat, cultural value, opportunity cost, or the interests of future generations.
Doubts about whether mitigation measures are enforced, citing Berlayer Creek at the former Keppel site, where trees and mangroves were lost despite similar assurances.
Questions about the transparency of the housing demand figures behind the plans.
Calls for the Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment to take a leading role.
On Gillman specifically: most of the native-dominated forest would be kept, but a large area of exotic forest would be lost, and the corridor to Labrador Park at 30 m is narrower than it should be. Gillman is the connector between the Southern Ridges and Labrador Park; without it, the forests fragment.

MP David Hoe asked each group for the one question they would most want put to Parliament, and said that public feedback can make a difference — “nothing is cast in stone”.