13 December 2011
PURPOSE
• This submission is made by the Heritage Sabah Community Group in response to the contents of the Draft Kota Kinabalu Local Plan 2020.
INFORMATION
Who is making this submission?
• Heritage Sabah is a community group dedicated to advocating the architectural conservation of historical sites and buildings in Sabah. The organisation aims to educate and bring awareness to Sabahan of all cultural and socio-economic backgrounds about the importance of preserving built heritage in defining and consolidating the identity of Sabah.
INTRODUCTION
The Heritage Sabah Community Group welcomes the opportunity to comment on the Draft Kota Kinabalu Local Plan 2020 as part of its public consultation process. We fully support and commend Kota Kinabalu City Hall’s initiative to provide a platform for the general public to be more vocal of their needs and concerns about the future of Kota Kinabalu City development.
As a heritage organisation, we enthusiastically support the introduction of policies which relate to the protection of heritage, particularly Policy UD1, TOUR 1.1 and TOUR 2 of the Draft Kota Kinabalu Local Plan (KKLP) 2020. The adoption of such policies is an important and positive step towards elevating the profile of heritage preservation as an urban theme that should not be neglected.
However, we feel that the subject of built heritage preservation is not adequately addressed in the Draft Kota Kinabalu Local Plan 2020 and that the actions and strategies proposed to carry the above policies through leave much to be desired.
We raise the following matters for Kota Kinabalu City Hall’s (KKCH) consideration:
1 Lack of consolidated policies for Heritage Preservation
It is set out in the Kota Kinabalu Structure Plan 2030 for Kota Kinabalu to be “a city which is built on its cultural and historical assets whether they are natural or manmade. A city which uses every occasion to make that connection between its peoples, natural and historical assets and where its cultural and historical heritage is expressed through its buildings, landscaping, signage and in the way it celebrates events.”
Given this vision, it is clear that there should be significant priority given to conserving and restoring both natural AND manmade heritage. However, the way in which this broad vision is addressed through supporting policies at the local level does not seem to reflect such a priority. We feel that although heritage preservation policies have been addressed among the Urban Design, Tourism, and Open Space and Recreation sections, there is lack of direction and an overall consolidation for the different aspects within the broad theme of heritage.
2 Heritage Preservation - Where to from here?
Moving forward from the overall broad objective of heritage preservation in the Kota Kinabalu Structure Plan 2030, we feel that there is a need for KKCH to inform the next steps to effectively enforce the stipulated policies within the Draft KKLP 2020. A detailed set of guidelines will avoid potential difficulties in achieving the full realisation of policy objectives.
3 Heritage Precincts
In reference to policy UDS1 and TOUR1.1, we strongly believe that the area covering Atkinson Clock tower, Padang Merdeka, Australia Place and the Sabah Tourism Board Building has great potential to become a heritage precinct for KK city, designed with a heritage walk that reflects the historical development of the city from Settlement to Present. We believe that a master plan should be put in place for the restoration and beautification of this precinct as well as all other sites of cultural and historical significance. This will create awareness and educate present and future generations of the essence of Kota Kinabalu City’s identity as well as return vibrant activity to the area.
It is important to add that Heritage Sabah does understand the fact that there may not be many heritage sites to be protected or restored within the Kota Kinabalu district to require a scope of work of such scale. However, we feel that such circumstances substantially justify that there should not be any excuse that potential heritage sites and precincts cannot be identified or at least more significantly indicated/highlighted in the Draft KKLP 2020. This will ensure a more beneficial and desirable outcome towards functional and sensitive designs for heritage sites.
4 Enforcement Measures
For any proposed (re)development of historically significant precincts and sites, we strongly believe that a heritage assessment and consultation should be a mandatory procedure when preparing Development Proposal Reports (See Part VIII: Development of Land, Memorandum, Draft KKLP 2020). However, in the proposed Draft KKLP 2020 Memorandum, there seems to be no specific mention for such procedures.
5 Other Aspects of Heritage Preservation to be considered
Apart from the preservation of historically significant built structures as heritage, we would also like to add that the preservation of Natural Heritage and Social/Cultural Heritage (as stated in i & ii below) are also vital to the preservation of the overall historical, ecological, and cultural significance of Kota Kinabalu.
i. Natural Heritage: Existing Mangrove or Swamps and Lagoons to be preserved and its ecological value enhanced. To conserve the existing flora and fauna apparent on-site.
ii. Cultural Heritage: Historical Settlement Patterns such as the water villages to be thoughtfully considered and integrated into the design of any redevelopment schemes proposed for places of such settlements (e.g. existing water villages). Redevelopment schemes consistent to the setting, character and context of the site will “respect and contribute positively to the character of natural landscapes” (Part E-2, Draft K.K.L.P. 2020). For example, a potential redevelopment effort of the Sembulan Water Village that takes into account the former character of settlement across water informs a distinctive design where the natural features of the site are integral to the redevelopment and gentrification of its place.
Although these areas of interests are not a primary focus of the Heritage Sabah Community Group advocacy activities, we nevertheless recognize the importance of these areas in relation to their important contribution towards the betterment of Kota Kinabalu city.
Heritage Sabah will be happy to work with KKCH and provide input in the development of any detailed guidelines or recommendations highlighted in this submission. We hope this is a good start for further discussions with the local authority to refine ideas and provisions in the Draft KKLP 2020.
***
Table 1 - KOTA KINABALU STRUCTURAL PLAN 2030
| Page | KOTA KINABALU STRUCTURE PLAN 2030 |
| C2-1 | 2.1 INTRODUCTION |
| C8.4 | 8.3 TOURISM- Policies and strategies |
| C10.1 | Map 10.1 “The city’s many natural and man-made attractions will also be promoted” |
|
| DRAFT KOTA KINABALU LOCAL PLAN 2020- WRITTEN STATEMENT |
| E1-2 | GENERAL CONSIDERATION |
| E1-2 | POLICY UD1- KKCH to identify key structural assets of the city and articulate the ‘vision’ for their preservation and enhancement.
UD1.1 KKCH will work in consultation with Muzium Department, PAM Sabah Chapter and relevant NGO’s to identify buildings, structures and places to be conserved. |
| E8-3 | GENERAL CONSIDERATION -Fund the restoration of buildings and properties having historical heritage value |
| E8-4 | POLICY TOUR1.1-KKCH shall concentrate efforts on: -‘Interpreting’ places where visitors stop and congregate such as parks, streets, civic places, significant heritage sites, rest stops, roadhouses, key vistas and lookouts. |
| E8-5 | POLICY TOUR2 – Identify and fund the restoration of buildings and property that have historical heritage value to Kota Kinabalu City
· Identify, retain and preserve materials and features of significant buildings. · Consider funding the replacement of extensively deteriorated features of significant buildings that are valuable · Re-create missing features on significant buildings where practical · Energy efficiency/ accessibility considerations/ health and safety code considerations |
|
| DRAFT KOTA KINABALU LOCAL PLAN 2020- MEMORANDUM |
| | “Conservation” means an area set apart for the purpose of the conservation or preservation of natural and/or cultural values. |
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