Woodlands, Singapore

This article is about a town in Singapore. For other towns with similar or exact names, seeWoodlands (disambiguation).

Woodlands
Planning AreaandRegional Centre
Other transcription(s)
•Chinese	Ngột lan
•Malay	Woodlands
•Tamil	ஊட்லண்ட்ஸ்
From top left to right:Republic Polytechnic,Woodlands Town Park East,Marsiling MRT station,Woodlands MRT station,Woodlands Park Connector,HDBflats along Woodlands Drive 16
Location of Woodlands in Singapore
Location of Woodlands in Singapore
Woodlands WoodlandsinSingapore Woodlands Woodlands (Asia) Woodlands Woodlands (Earth)
Coordinates:1°26′10.57″N103°47′12.14″E
Country	Singapore
Region	North Region
CDC	North West CDC
Town councils	Marsiling-Yew Tee Town Council Sembawang Town Council
Constituencies	Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC Sembawang GRC
Government
• Mayor	North West CDC Alex Yam
• Members of Parliament	Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC Zaqy Mohamad Hany Soh Hui Bin Sembawang GRC Mariam Jaafar Poh Li San Vikram Nair
Area
• Total	16.78 km2(6.48 sq mi)
• Residential	6.90 km2(2.66 sq mi)
Population (2019)
• Total	254,730
• Density	15,000/km2(39,000/sq mi)
Demonym	Official Woodlands resident
Postal district	25
Dwelling units	62,675
Projected ultimate	98,000

Woodlandsis aplanning areaandresidential townlocated in theNorthofSingapore.As of 2019, the town has a population of 254,733. Located approximately 25 km (16 mi) north of thecentral business district (CBD),it is the densest planning area and is theregional centrefor the northern parts of the country.

The Woodlands planning area bordersSembawangto the east,Mandaito the south andSungei Kadutto the west. Woodlands New Town is situated within the Woodlands planning area, which was developed during the 1980s as part of Singapore's plan to decentralise the city-centre and create self-contained residential areas throughout the country.

Woodlands also serves as one of the two international land border connections on the Singaporean side between the countries of Singapore andMalaysiaatWoodlands Checkpoint,which leads to theJohor–Singapore Causeway.The other connection is theTuas Second LinkatTuas.

History

Woodlands station, circa 1910.

British administration

The area consisting of modern-day Woodlands Town first witnessed the opening of theJohor-Singapore Causewayin 1923. Early Woodlands consisted of villages where residents made their living mostly as small-time shopkeepers and vegetable farmers in theMarsilingarea, while rubber plantations and poultry farms dot the landscape at where modern-dayAdmiraltyis located.

Post-independence

The firstHDBflats were built from 1972 in the northern part of Marsiling, and the Woodlands Bus Interchange located at Woodlands Centre Road was built in 1980.

Prior to 1988, Woodlands was divided intoBukit Panjang SMCand Sembawang SMC, before it was merged in 1991 intoSembawang GRCdue to growing development.

The development of Woodlands began in 1981. This comprises the building of HDB flats in the Neighbourhood 1, which was completed in 1985; well after the Marsiling Estate. The Neighbourhood 8 was completed in 1987, together with the Neighbourhood 3 in 1989. Because of the saturation of HDB flats, the numbering system added 'A', 'B' and 'C'. Blocks 6xx in Admiralty were completed in 1996, together with the 7xx in 1997. Expansion into Innova began in 1998 and was completed in 2002, which consists of block 5xx. Expansion into the Woodlands East began in 1999 and completed in 2004.

The Jalan Ulu Sembawang is a rural road that cut across parts of the Woodlands New Town and the Sembawang Airbase. Starting from June 1992, the Jalan Ulu Sembawang is being cleared because of the extension of Woodlands New Town, Gambas Avenue, Sembawang Airbase and the Seletar Expressway. The village was cleared by 1996 and it was being converted into a military training ground.

Neighbourhood layout

There are three constituencies in the town, and nine neighbourhoods (N1 to N9) within the Woodlands vicinity made up primarily of Woodlands,Marsiling,WoodgroveandAdmiralty.Woodlands Squareserves as the town centre while adjacent neighbourhood centres also offer a variety of commercial activities. Integrated development plans includingKampung Admiralty(Admiralty Village) were officially launched in April 2014.

Name of Neighbourhood	Location	Commercial Areas	Accessibility
Woodlands	Centre, Northeast, Northwest and West of Woodlands Town	Causeway Point,Woodlands Civic Centre, Woodlands Square,Woodlands North Plaza, Vista Point, Woods Square	Via MRT atWoodlands MRT stationor buses fromWoodlands Bus Interchange
Marsiling	West and Southwest of Woodlands Square	Marsiling Mall, Marsiling Yew-Tee Town Council and Woodlands Checkpoint	Via MRT atMarsiling MRT station
Woodgrove	South from Woodlands Square	The Woodgrove	Via buses fromWoodlands Bus Interchange
Admiralty	East from Woodlands Square	888 Plaza, Woodlands Mart andKampung Admiralty	Via MRT atAdmiralty MRT station,or buses fromWoodlands Bus Interchange

Of all the estates, Woodgrove is the smallest in size, located towards the southwest end of the town. Woodgrove houses most of the private housing in Woodlands, consisting of high-rise condominiums and landed properties. Woodgrove lies in between the estates of Marsiling and Woodlands.

Marsiling, Woodlands, Woodgrove and Admiralty all together form Woodlands New Town.

• 
  Woodlands estate
• 
  Woodlands at night
• 
  A housing apartment block in Woodlands Avenue 9, southern portion of the Woodlands estate
• 
  HDB Apartment Blocks in Woodlands

Facilities

Woodlands Regional Library.

Woodlands is diverse during the day and well lit at night. Shops, eateries, and commercial zones are evenly spread through the town, with bus and transit routes operating past midnight.

Divisions within estates are being rapidly modernised and modelled for Singapore's standards; playgrounds, communal gardens, sheltered pavements, multi-level parking lots, barbecue-pits, recreational facilities (such as tennis courts) and trees are foundnearly everywhere.

Parks

With the modernising process outpacing the preservation of its past,Marsiling Park(formerly Woodlands Town Garden) keeps a clear and simple agenda, to bring greenery in the right ambience with the mixture of the local ethnicities. The theme of the park revolves around the Malay and Chinese cultures, and winding through the park is Sungei Mandai Kechil, the river that extends into a lake within the park. Marsiling Park is located near to the Woodlands Checkpoint, in the Marsiling estate.

To the east of this area, bordering the polytechnic isAdmiralty Park,a 27-hectare national park much of which is covered inmangrove.The most recent riverine park which opened in phases is theWoodlands Waterfront Park.It has engaged a lot of residents, especially those staying in northern Singapore. It is also linked to Admiralty Park and a 25 km Northern Explorer Park Connector Network.

Mandai Tekong Park, located at Woodlands Avenue 5, is a lawned park among residential areas consisting of a fenced off court for ball games & benches with a running track.

Vista Park is located at Woodlands Drive 16 among residential areas. It is a park situated at a walking distance to Vista Point and consists of playgrounds and running tracks for recreational purposes.

Malls

Causeway Point,one of the largest shopping malls in Singapore, houses 250 shops and various outlets, including a cinema and two food courts. There used to be a John Little department store within the mall but it closed in 2010.

Woodlands Regional Library,the largest neighbourhood library in Singapore at the time of its launch, is operated by theNational Library Board.The four-storey public library within the Woodlands Civic Centre caters to all ages and is organised according to themes of general, reference, teens, and children.

Woodlands Civic Centre is a designated centre of education, public services, and other forms of assistance for residents. The centre houses the Woodlands Regional Library, several banks,CPFWoodlands Branch, a post office, numerous merchandise and educational institutions, and restaurants.

Woods Square is a mixed use integrated commercial development with retail, F&B, and a childcare centre.

Recreation

Sports are an emerging emphasis in the Singaporean society. Recreational facilities can be easily located around the estates and especially in parks: The Woodlands Stadium and Woodlands Swimming Complex are common places for sports enthusiasts.

Experimental styles of architecture have found their way into Woodlands, making the town a place of wonder and colour, with much integration with recreation. From the early practical designs to its modern-day luxurious manifestation, housing apartment blocks are no longer as plain as they sound; with the garnish of parks, communal gardens and décors, these blocks are pieces of art and style themselves. The centrepiece of the town, Woodlands Square, attracts a constant flow of travellers and shoppers daily.

Education

As of May 2020,this area has a total of 12 primary schools, 10 secondary schools and a polytechnic, namelyRepublic Polytechnic.Educational institutions are evenly distributed throughout the estate. From newly founded schools to well-established ones, Woodlands has several top educational institutions in the northern region. Innova Junior College, located in Woodlands, merged withYishun Junior Collegein 2019.

The list of schools in Woodlands is as follows:

Primary schools

• Admiralty Primary School
• Evergreen Primary School
• Fuchun Primary School
• Greenwood Primary School
• Innova Primary School
• Marsiling Primary School
• Qihua Primary School
• Riverside Primary School
• Si Ling Primary School
• Woodgrove Primary School
• Woodlands Primary School
• Woodlands Ring Primary School

Secondary schools

• Admiralty Secondary School
• Christ Church Secondary School
• Evergreen Secondary School
• Fuchun Secondary School
• Marsiling Secondary School
• Riverside Secondary School
• Woodgrove Secondary School
• Woodlands Secondary School
• Woodlands Ring Secondary School

Si Ling Secondary School was closed and merged with Marsiling Secondary School with effect from 2017.

Polytechnics

• Republic Polytechnic

Specialised schools

• Singapore Sports School(independent school for sports-inclined students)
• Spectra Secondary School (for Normal (Technical) students)

International schools

• Singapore American School

Places of worship

Woodlands has 6 churches, 2 mosques and 12 temples.

Churches

• Church of Saint Anthony
• Covenant Evangelical Free Church
• Lighthouse Evangelism
• New Life Bible Presbyterian Church
• Woodlands Evangelical Free Church
• Light of Christ Church Woodlands

Mosques

• An-Nur Mosque
• Yusof Ishak Mosque

Temples

• Shang Di Miao Chai Kong Temple( thượng đế miếu tế công đàn ), Marsiling Ind Estate Road 3
• Hong Tho Bilw Temple( phượng đồ miếu ), Marsiling Ind Estate Road 3
• Ching Chwee Temple( thanh thủy miếu đông thánh điện ), Woodlands Industrial Park E8
• Wu Dang Shan Temple( võ đương sơn ), Woodlands Industrial Park E8
• Tien Chor Temple( thiên tổ miếu ), Woodlands Industrial Park E8
• Jin Fu Gong Gong De Tang( kim phúc cung công đức đường ), Woodlands Industrial Park E8
• Hong Sun Tan Temple( đức huệ phượng sơn đàn ), Woodlands Industrial Park E4
• Fei Loong Gong Temple( phi long cung ), Woodlands Industrial Park E4
• Mandai Lian Hup Tng Temple( vạn lễ liên hợp điện ), Woodlands Industrial Park E4
• Siang San Temple( huyền sơn miếu cứu thế đàn ), Woodlands Industrial Park E4
• BW Monastery ( cát tường bảo tụ tự ), Woodlands Drive 16
• Siva Krishnan Temple, Marsiling Rise

Accessibility

Woodlands Integrated Transport Hub.

Road

Being located immediately across from Johor Bahru, Woodlands is highly accessible, connected by major roads andexpressways.TheCausewayconnects to theBukit Timah Expressway(BKE) atWoodlands Checkpointto allow easy access to Woodlands and other parts of Singapore.

Land transportation in Woodlands is relatively efficient, contrasting by the amount of well-maintained roads, a common sight in Singapore. Twelve avenues support and help circulate all of the traffic of the town, especially notable ones such as Avenue 2, Avenue 3 and Avenue 12, which are connected to the expressways.

Woodlands Avenue 2is a shorter route from the town centre and older estates to theSeletar Expressway.To connect the Woodlands Avenue 2 into the Seletar Expressway, part of the road was being built since 1998.

Woodlands Avenue 3connects Marsiling from the exit of BKE to Woodlands Centre Road, which leads to Woodlands Checkpoint. The rest of it maintains a similar route of the MRT line, which connects to Woodlands Square.

As the avenue ends at the entrance of the slope of Woodlands Square (the road that circulates Woodlands Square), another end starts atWoodlands Avenue 7,which connects Woodlands to Admiralty, also along the route of the MRT line, ending at Gambas Avenue.

Woodlands Avenue 12forms the southeastern border of the town, connecting the upcomingWoodlands Health Campus,office buildings as well as the neighbouring town ofSembawangto theSeletar Expressway.

Divisionswithin estates are further connected and regulated by two- or single lane roads calledstreets,which are distinguished by a suffix of double-digit numbers, such as Woodlands Street 82 and Woodlands Street 83. This was a common practice before the late '90s.Drivesare two- or single lane roads built for newer divisions within an estate, similar to that of the streets.

LinksandCrescentsare often three-, two-, or single-lane roads that convey commuters from the 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.Crescentsconnect main roads to streets or drives.

Rail

Residents of Woodlands are currently serviced by fiveMass Rapid Transit(MRT) stations across two MRT lines intersecting each other, theNorth-South LineandThomson-East Coast Line:

• Woodlands MRT stationat the town centre (both lines)
• Woodlands North MRT stationin the north (Thomson-East Coast Line)
• Woodlands South MRT stationin the south (Thomson-East Coast Line)
• Marsiling MRT stationin the west (North-South Line)
• Admiralty MRT stationin the east (North-South Line)

The travelling time from Woodlands MRT station toCity Hall MRT stationin the central business district is approximately 40 minutes.

Woodlands Train Checkpointis linked by a shuttle train toJohor Bahru Sentral stationin Malaysia across the causeway. It is planned to be replaced by a rapid transit link, theJohor Bahru–Singapore Rapid Transit System,which will have its Singapore terminus atWoodlands North MRT station,improving access between Johor Bahru and Singapore.

Bus

Under the government's plans to develop a new town centre in the geographical centre of Woodlands, the town's bus interchange was relocated from the previous Woodlands Town Centre to the current town centre at Woodlands Square in 1996. This bus interchange, theWoodlands Regional Bus Interchange,was the first underground bus interchange in Singapore, having been built under the Woodlands MRT station. It was built this way to maximise space.

In 2016,Woodlands Temporary Bus Interchangewas opened to facilitate renovation work at the former bus interchange, which included connecting it to the Thomson-East Coast Line. All bus services relocated to the temporary interchange. The former bus interchange, which is now known as the Woodlands Integrated Transport Hub, had reopened on 13 June 2021 as the 11th integrated transport hub in Singapore.

Politics

Woodlands was under jurisdiction for two constituencies in the northern area as of the 2020 elections, namelySembawang GRCandMarsiling-Yew Tee GRC,both of which were controlled by the rulingPeople's Action Party.In early days, Woodlands was mostly covered under a single constituency of Sembawang (and in 1988, as a GRC) and parts ofBukit Panjang SMCprior to the 1991 elections. Woodlands and Sembawang has since expanded into divisions forMarsilingand Woodlands in2001,followed byAdmiraltyin2006,and Woodgrove in2011.In2015,both Marsiling and Woodgrove were later hived out from Sembawang GRC into the new Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC due to the population growth from the neighbouringYew Teefrom theChua Chu Kang GRC.

Future plans

According to theUrban Redevelopment Authorityand its Master Plan for the North Region, the Woodlands Regional Centre is set to become the "Northern Gateway" of Singapore. Featuring some 700,000 m²of new commercial space and more than 100 hectares of land that will be developed, the growth of the Woodlands Regional Centre will anchor the development of the North Coast Innovation Corridor. More commercial and shopping options will progressively be made available in the Woodlands Central, with a future pedestrian mall running through the heart of the district. As a significant employment cluster, the Woodlands North Coast will bring jobs and commercial opportunities closer to home for residents of the North Region. A new waterfront park will be built to connect the two districts of Woodlands Central and Woodlands North Coast. More park connectors and cycling paths will be built to connect to the 150 km Round Island Route and Rail Corridor.

See also

• Woodlands Train Checkpoint
• Places in Singapore

External links

• North West Community Development Council
• Sembawang Town Council
• Woodlands Town Park
• Republic Polytechnic
• Singapore Sports School
• Singapore American School
• HDB Team Woodlands