Congrats! Sembawang/Nee Soon GRC hit with 400% fees rise by town council

[Confuseous]

Sembawang, Nee Soon retailers hit by fee hike

04:45 AM Dec 11, 2012

by Sumita Sreedharan


SINGAPORE - Already facing dwindling profits because of the shopping malls that have sprung up nearby, hundreds of heartland retailers in the Sembawang and Nee Soon Group Representation Constituencies will be hit by higher fees - the increase is up to four-fold - for using the demarcated areas outside their shops.

The fee hike, the first in 17 years for shopkeepers in the constituencies, will be implemented in April and some 630 businesses will be affected, according to the Sembawang-Nee Soon Town Council.

A visit by TODAY found that most shops use these Outdoor Display Areas - usually demarcated by yellow or red lines - to showcase their wares or to rent out to other businesses.

Responding to this newspaper's queries, a Sembawang-Nee Soon Town Council spokesperson said that fees for the outdoor advertising areas in neighbourhood or town centres will go up four-fold for Outdoor Display Areas that are between 1 and 8 sq m, from S$30 to S$120.

Similarly, the fees will increase from S$50 to S$240 for areas that are between 8.01 and 16 sq m.

For areas that are above 16 sq m, the retailers will have to pay S$20 per sq m, instead of the current S$100 flat fee.

The new fees in other parts of the estate are half that in the neighbourhood or town centres. Previously, the town council charged the same fees for all outdoor advertising areas, regardless of location.

Even though operating costs have increased substantially, the fees charged by the Sembawang-Nee Soon Town Council have "lagged substantially behind" other town councils, its spokesperson said. "After the review, the (fees) will range from S$2 to S$8 a day, still amongst the lowest in Singapore," she said.

Mr Lee Aik Chin, 60, who runs an IT services business at Woodlands Centre, said he will stop using the Outdoor Display Area outside his shop because of the hike. He said he was unhappy that the town council did not explain the rationale of the fee increase to the retailers.

Mr Edmund Wong, who owns Guan Chuan Chan Medical Hall, currently pays S$600 a year for about 9.3 sq m of outdoor advertising area.

With the fee hike, he will have to pay about S$3,000 a year. He will continue to pay for the space as it is "a way to attract customers".

"Business has been bad ... with the current circumstances, it makes it harder for us," said Mr Wong.

The fee hike by Sembawang-Nee Soon Town Council comes after Tampines Town Council raised its fees in September by 150 per cent for shops in the neighbourhood and town centres, and doubled the fees for shops in other parts of the estate.

TODAY

 

[GOD IS MY DOG]

velly velly good ah....................they will complain about PAP to customers...................free anti-PAP propaganda leh..................

 

[po2wq]

ah loon huat ah! ...

 

[batman1]

Good news !!! Sembawang/Nee Noon GRC need to increase town council fees so as to give better services to the residents.Well Done Sembawang/Nee Soon GRC residents ! Give yourself a TIGER !

 

[KNNBCCB]

ah loon huat ah! ...

Huat ahhhhhhhhhh

 

[BuiKia]

 

[streetsmart73]

Good news !!! Sembawang/Nee Noon GRC need to increase town council fees so as to give better services to the residents.Well Done Sembawang/Nee Soon GRC residents ! Give yourself a TIGER !

hi there


1. bro, no doubt about it mah
2. the fee hike is to improve its services to the residents there hoh.
3. serve the sheep right!

 

[halsey02]

Nobody ask " WHO DID THEY VOTE FOR"????

 

[hairylee]

Don't laugh. It will come to a location near you.

 

[batman1]

So far ,all the solutions by the MIW are to increase fares,fees,levies....etc
e.g.SMRT drivers strike,NO Porn LUi proposed to increase fares.

 

[po2wq]

So far ,all the solutions by the MIW are to increase fares,fees,levies....etc
e.g.SMRT drivers strike,NO Porn LUi proposed to increase fares.

datz ze 10 yr series model answer 4 ah loon's gahmen ...

 

[OrNeeKu]

So far ,all the solutions by the MIW are to increase fares,fees,levies....etc
e.g.SMRT drivers strike,NO Porn LUi proposed to increase fares.

If the minister can up the bus fare, what is the purpose of the Public Transport Council?

For wayang?

 

[tonychat]

That is what happen when they dun vote sdp.
Serve them right for voting PAP and now getting their ass screwed. Wahahah. I am right to stay away from sinkies.

 

[kopiuncle]

Outdoor Display Areas are a nuisance - they block the walkway and they are being exploited by the owners/tenants of the shop houses. They charge exhorbitant "rentals" for the use of these Outdoor Display Areas and they even increase the "rentals" during weekends.

Many of these make-shift stalls are managed by foreigners, mainly from China. And many of these " fly by night" stalls paid premium "rentals" to the owners/tenants of the shops. These are greedy and exploitative " land-lords".

Serve them right!!!! Now the walkways will be much cleaner and less obstacles. The whole place will be less congested and safer for pedestrains and residents. Some even charge the tenants of such Outdoor Display Areas a high rental per hour!!!

 

[halsey02]

Don't laugh. It will come to a location near you.

Something like "coming to a theater in 3D & 7.1 sound surround"!!

 

[kopiuncle]

some of these " fly by night " stalls at the Outdoor Display Area are cheats - cheat old uncles and old aunties. They should be removed ....sometimes, they sell very cheap goods which turn out to be defective...even cheap cheap fruits which turn bad or are heavily sprayed with pesticides...many of the consumers fell ill after taking all these cheap stuff...sometimes, you see home made food too!!!....they will do anything to make some money to pay the high rental!!!

 

[laksaboy]

Where I live (West Coast GRC), already small businesses bakeries, barber shops and provision shops etc have been forced to close shop due to crazy rent hikes by the town council, immediately after a lift upgrading exercise. Those shops that remain tried to sublet half their shop space to make ends meet.

Many of those shop owners were already old, had no one to take over the shops when they die, and their businesses had already been siphoned off by Breadtalk, NTUC Fairprice and those budget hair cut joints. Must the town councils be such incorrigible rent-seeking cunts?

 

[chonburifc]

Where I live (West Coast GRC), already small businesses bakeries, barber shops and provision shops etc have been forced to close shop due to crazy rent hikes by the town council, immediately after a lift upgrading exercise. Those shops that remain tried to sublet half their shop space to make ends meet.

Many of those shop owners were already old, had no one to take over the shops when they die, and their businesses had already been siphoned off by Breadtalk, NTUC Fairprice and those budget hair cut joints. Must the town councils be such incorrigible rent-seeking cunts?

That's the real meaning of "No one will be left behind (including the 60%)!"

 

[groinroot]

I hope such restrictions will be imposed in Little India/Serangoon Road/Syed Alwi Road areas. For years goods displays and vegetable shelves have been blocking pavements and five-foot ways and even roads. 90% of the businesses here are operated by India Indians, Pakistanis and Bangladeshis, and I wonder why the authorities are reluctant to act whereas locals in HDB heartlands are punished when they step out of line. Another pro-foreigner policy?

 

[kopiuncle]

agree. it is almost impossible to walk in these places....all crowded and congested...and the shop owners are crying out for better exposure and business....same thing happening in chinatown areas....but those stalls paid high rentals to the owners of the shops or to the organisers of special events/carnivals. the consumers are the ones who will suffer.