Singapore decides not to nominate Padang and surrounding buildings as UNESCO World Heritage Site

The Padang Civic Ensemble includes key buildings within the Civic District such as Asian Civilisations Museum, the former Supreme Court and City Hall, and the Fullerton Hotel..

ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI

Published Nov 03, 2026, 05:00 PM

Updated Nov 03, 2026, 05:00 PM

SINGAPORE – Singapore will not proceed to nominate the Padang and its surrounding buildings for inscription as a World Heritage Site, after a UNESCO preliminary assessment recommended planning measures that would restrict future development across the wider Civic District.

These measures include a larger buffer zone with regulatory protection, safeguards for key views to and from the site, and controls to ensure future developments do not compromise the site’s heritage significance, said the National Heritage Board (NHB) on Nov 3.

The assessment found that the buffer zone that Singapore had originally proposed was insufficient. Expanding the buffer would affect buildings in the Hill Street, Dhoby Ghaut and Beach Road areas.

The proposed World Heritage Site – formally called The Padang Civic Ensemble – includes surrounding civic buildings such as the Asian Civilisations Museum, The Fullerton Hotel, the Old Parliament House, the Victoria Theatre and Concert Hall, and St Andrew’s Cathedral.

It was added to Singapore’s tentative list of World Heritage Sites in March 2023, the first step for it to be nominated as the country’s second World Heritage Site after the Singapore Botanic Gardens.

In September that year, NHB voluntarily requested a preliminary assessment, which is not compulsory for World Heritage nominations till 2027.

In a preliminary assessment, advisory bodies to the World Heritage Committee review a country’s tentative nomination to gauge its feasibility before a full nomination is made. Singapore received the assessment report in 2024.

The report “recognised the heritage significance of The Padang Civic Ensemble, including its role in Singapore’s transition from colonial rule to nationhood, and its significance as an example of a British colonial civic square in the tropics”, NHB said in a statement on Nov 3. “The report also acknowledged the site’s potential for a World Heritage Site nomination.”

However, it flagged “significant challenges to the nomination”, NHB said, particularly a recommendation to widen the buffer zone.

All World Heritage Sites generally have a buffer zone around them as an added layer of protection. This comes with legal restrictions on land use and development to ensure that important views to and from the sites remain unobstructed, among other things.

“Implementing these measures recommended by the advisory bodies would introduce additional considerations and consultation requirements for future planning and development across the wider Civic District, including areas well beyond the Padang,” said NHB.

For instance, Singapore would have to consult Unesco on developments that could affect the site’s heritage significance.

“This could apply to modifications to existing buildings, or new plans in the surrounding areas affecting important views to and from the Padang,” the board added.

While many historically important buildings within the proposed site and buffer zone are already conserved or gazetted as national monuments, NHB noted that imposing additional requirements on private commercial buildings, such as malls and offices, would significantly affect property owners and the future rejuvenation of the Civic District.

The decision not to proceed “reflects the need to strike a careful balance between safeguarding the heritage significance of The Padang Civic Ensemble and retaining sufficient flexibility for any future plans in the larger Civic District”, it said.

Furthermore, in its submission, Singapore had argued that the coalescence of colonial-era and post-independence civic institutions within The Padang Civic Ensemble “bears testament to the historically widespread phenomenon of decolonisation, and the globally significant transition of long-held British territories to newly independent nations”.

The advisory bodies had also advised Singapore to look into protecting its post-independence buildings within the site. The Supreme Court Building and Parliament House are among those within the proposed site boundary that have no legal protections.

NHB had acknowledged in 2023 that the Padang would be a “challenging nomination” because of the opportunity costs for future redevelopment of the surrounding area.

It said it proceeded with the preliminary assessment to get official input and guidance from UNESCO, and had hoped the evaluators would consider Singapore’s context as a small, densely built city-state.

In reaching its decision, the board said it had studied overseas cases and recognised that Unesco requirements could span decades and become more stringent over time.

It cited Liverpool Maritime Mercantile City in Britain, which was inscribed as a World Heritage Site in 2004 but delisted in 2021 after new developments within the site and its buffer zone were deemed to have damaged its authenticity and integrity.

NHB also considered the cases of Jongmyo Shrine in South Korea, and the Old Town of Regensburg in Germany, which are both World Heritage Sites.

A high-rise complex outside the buffer zone of Jongmyo Shrine has been stalled after UNESCO in November 2025 asked the Seoul government to suspend building approvals, citing concerns that the buildings might damage Jongmyo’s landscape.

About 1.5 km from Regensburg’s buffer zone, a proposed 98m-tall building had to be redesigned following concerns that it would impact views of the site.

With the decision not to proceed with the nomination, the Padang Civic Ensemble will be removed from Singapore’s tentative list. NHB said that it has not identified any other sites for inclusion on the list.

The board added that it would have to carefully consider if the requirements and guidelines raised in the preliminary assessment will apply to future potential nominations.

It said that its resources are now focused on nominations to UNESCO’s intangible cultural heritage list, adding that the process involves local communities and allows for more collaboration with international partners.

Ng Keng Gene is a correspondent at The Straits Times, reporting on issues relating to land use, urban planning and heritage.

National Heritage Board

巴东市民建筑群包括市政区内的重要建筑，例如亚洲文明博物馆、前最高法院和市政厅以及富丽敦酒店。

ST 照片：林耀辉

发布于2026年11月3日下午5:00

更新于2026年11月3日下午5:00

新加坡——联合国教科文组织初步评估建议采取规划措施，限制整个市政区未来的发展，因此新加坡将不会提名政府大厦草场及其周边建筑列入世界遗产名录。

国家文物局 (NHB) 于 11 月 3 日表示，这些措施包括扩大缓冲区并加以监管保护，保护通往该遗址的关键景观，以及控制措施以确保未来的发展不会损害该遗址的遗产意义。

评估结果显示，新加坡最初提出的缓冲区范围不足。扩大缓冲区将影响希尔街、多美歌和海滩路一带的建筑物。

拟议的世界遗产地——正式名称为巴东市民建筑群——包括周围的市政建筑，例如亚洲文明博物馆、富丽敦酒店、旧国会大厦、维多利亚剧院和音乐厅以及圣安德鲁大教堂。

2023 年 3 月，它被列入新加坡世界遗产预备名单，这是继新加坡植物园之后，新加坡获得第二个世界遗产提名的第一步。

同年9月，NHB自愿申请进行初步评估，而世界遗产提名在2027年之前并非必须进行初步评估。

在初步评估阶段，世界遗产委员会的咨询机构会对一个国家的暂定提名进行审查，以评估其可行性，然后再进行正式提名。新加坡于2024年收到了评估报告。

新加坡国家文物局 (NHB) 在 11 月 3 日的一份声明中表示，该报告“肯定了巴东市民广场的历史意义，包括其在新加坡从殖民统治向建国过渡过程中的作用，以及其作为热带地区英国殖民时期市民广场典范的意义”。“该报告还承认该遗址具有申报世界遗产的潜力。”

然而，国家历史委员会表示，该委员会指出“提名面临重大挑战”，特别是扩大缓冲区的建议。

所有世界遗产地通常都设有缓冲区，作为额外的保护措施。缓冲区对土地使用和开发施加法律限制，以确保通往遗产地和从遗产地望出去的重要景观不受阻碍等等。

国家文物局表示：“实施咨询机构建议的这些措施，将为整个市政区（包括巴东以外的地区）的未来规划和发展引入额外的考虑因素和咨询要求。”

例如，新加坡在进行任何可能影响该遗址遗产意义的发展项目时，都必须咨询联合国教科文组织。

委员会补充说：“这可能适用于对现有建筑物的改建，或周边地区影响到巴东重要景观的新规划。”

虽然拟建场地和缓冲区内的许多具有重要历史意义的建筑物已被保护或列为国家古迹，但国家文物局指出，对私人商业建筑（如商场和办公楼）施加额外要求，将对业主和市政区的未来复兴产生重大影响。

声明称，不继续推进该项目的决定“反映了需要在保护巴东市民建筑群的遗产意义和为更大的市民区未来的任何计划保留足够的灵活性之间取得谨慎的平衡”。

此外，新加坡在提交的材料中辩称，殖民时代和独立后公民机构在巴东公民团体中的融合“证明了历史上普遍存在的非殖民化现象，以及长期被英国占领的领土向新独立的国家进行的具有全球意义的过渡”。

咨询机构还建议新加坡考虑保护该地块内独立后建造的建筑。最高法院大楼和国会大厦等建筑均位于拟议地块范围内，但目前尚无法律保护。

国家文物局在 2023 年承认，由于周边地区未来重建的机会成本，巴东将是一个“具有挑战性的提名”。

报告称，进行初步评估是为了获得联合国教科文组织的官方意见和指导，并希望评估人员能够考虑到新加坡作为一个小型、人口密集的城市国家的特殊情况。

理事会在做出决定时表示，他们研究了海外案例，并认识到联合国教科文组织的要求可能会持续数十年，并且随着时间的推移会变得更加严格。

报告援引了英国利物浦海事商业城的例子，该城于 2004 年被列入世界遗产名录，但由于该遗址及其缓冲区内的新开发项目被认为破坏了其真实性和完整性，因此于 2021 年被除名。

NHB还考虑了韩国宗庙和德国雷根斯堡古城的案例，这两个地方都是世界遗产。

2025年11月，联合国教科文组织要求首尔市政府暂停批准宗庙缓冲区外的一座高层建筑群的建设，理由是担心这些建筑可能会破坏宗庙的景观，此后该建筑群的建设就一直处于停滞状态。

距离雷根斯堡缓冲区约 1.5 公里处，一座拟建的 98 米高的建筑因担心会影响该地点的景观而被重新设计。

由于决定不进行提名，巴东市民乐团将从新加坡的预备名单中移除。国家文物局表示，尚未确定其他适合列入名单的地点。

董事会补充说，它将仔细考虑初步评估中提出的要求和指导方针是否适用于未来的潜在提名。

该机构表示，其资源目前集中用于提名联合国教科文组织非物质文化遗产名录，并补充说，这一过程涉及当地社区，并允许与国际伙伴进行更多合作。

吴庆根是《海峡时报》的记者，报道与土地利用、城市规划和遗产相关的问题。

国家文物局