WITH increasing regularity, neighbours of new development projects will invariably protest whatever development that is being proposed.

In many cases the basis for protest is absurd and totally intolerant, like there will be loss of greenery, noise and pollution and inconvenience during construction.

In our equatorial climate any vacant land will be richly vegetated in no time and many neighbours seem to deem that such vacant land is automatically their green belt. Many lament that they have been trekking and trespassing the land for their exercise, deeming that they have their rights to continue trespassing.

Development proposals have to be designed based on development rules and regulations and if the submissions are within these rules and regulations, these have to be approved as a matter of course and recognising the rights of the landowner to develop.

The authorities should not heed the protests of those who bought their property with the knowledge that their neighbouring lands will be developed in the future.

This is especially where the township has been master-planned and all the land usage in the township has been determined. The latest protest against a TNB station to be build in Ara Damansara is a case in point where the land for TNB use had already been part and parcel of the master plan of the township.

Compact high density living is the trend to be able to reduce unproductive travelling time and the reduction of pollution and making public transport and infrastructure sustainable and viable to be build.

The reality is that as we urbanise , there will be higher density developments.

TK CHANG
Petaling Jaya