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A resident staying in a block of flats at Anchorvale Crescent in Sengkang has taken to Facebook to slam the unsightly aesthetics of the exterior facade of the residential buildings there.

Posting publicly as Jane Wendy, the resident said the walls of the cluster of blocks in her area are mouldy and claimed: "Look like worse than 30 years old building."

Her post highlighted that the flats there are relatively new -- they were completed only in 2017 -- and asked if it is "possible to have such mouldy effect?"

Interior of home not mouldy

She also claimed that the interior of her home has no traces of mould, but that her son has been affected as he is asthmatic and suffers from chronic hives.

Numerous photos of the blocks of flats showed what appeared to be brown mould and green algae on the exterior facade of the buildings, including the walls of the multi-storey car park.

Her public complaint was directed at Sengkang town council, which oversees the maintenance of the amenities in the area, as she said she felt her concerns were not adequately addressed after she was told that refurbishing works might take two years or so and her feedback was received without further action.

The Anchorvale Parkview estate falls under the Anchorvale division of Sengkang GRC.

WP MP Jamus Lim responds

In response to the complaint, Sengkang GRC MP Jamus Lim said he had reached out to the resident in private and conveyed his diagnosis of the issue, as well as provided solutions, and sought for the resident's patience in dealing with the mould.

Lim said he was told that one "contributing factor" could be that the building was not painted with anti-mould paint.

This was the case for many new buildings, he said.

He added that anti-mould paint will be applied on the buildings in this cluster in the upcoming refurbishing works and it is an aspect that Sengkang Town Council is overseeing.

Lim also attributed the mouldy conditions to the building's location, which is beside a river, highlighting one of the downsides of living close to a water body.

He said: "Another factor could be the location of the building. It is located beside a river, and receives a fair bit of direct sunlight."

"The condition described is mainly for the C and D blocks, but not A and B (which are less exposed)."

Lim also said the source of the problem is beyond the Housing & Development Board or the caretaker of the estate: "Since the cluster was built at the same time and is maintained by the same team, it suggests that the source of the problem lies beyond simply the quality of development by HDB, or maintenance by the town council."

He explained that the problem will take some time to fix as it has to go through the proper process of setting the project parameters and calling for a tender.

You can read Lim's full reply here:

Thanks for the tag. I had tried to comment on the original poster’s page, but commenting seemed to be turned off for me, so I’ll share what I sent directly to her (she had contacted me via our hotline, too). For starters, I agree that the state of the block is poor, and that is this disappointing. It does not look appealing, and for a block that is only 5 years old, it does look older than it should.

That said, it’s important to recognize why this is so. I’m not a building expert, but I’ve been told that one contributing factor could be the choice of paint. Many new builds do not utilize the most anti-mould paint available. During the first R&R exercise, these are often upgraded. That will be the plan for the cluster, as it has been for other clusters that SKTC has overseen R&R works for.

Another factor could be the location of the building. It is located beside a river, and receives a fair bit of direct sunlight. The condition described is mainly for the C and D blocks, but not A and B (which are less exposed). Since the cluster was built at the same time and is maintained by the same team, it suggests that the source of the problem lies beyond simply the quality of development by HDB, or maintenance by the town council.

All that said, it’s fair to ask if there is anything that we can do to help address the issue. I’ve been in communication with the town council, and we are working out a plan to accelerate the R&R works for this cluster, so that it will occur sooner than the usual 7-year cycle. This will be subject to approval, and there are the usual necessary procedures—designing the project, calling for open tender, and the like—that mean that the issue might not be addressed instantaneously. But rest assured that we’re working on it, and we will be keeping residents updated on the status in the meantime, and request their patience.

All photos via Jane Wendy