Yishun Park hawker centre to open in September

Timbre Group has been appointed as its managing agent after it sent in a proposal that showed a strong emphasis on social objectives, with various productivity measures, says the National Environment Agency.

Apart from family-friendly features, child-friendly toilet facilities and a built-in tray return system, pinball machines and arcade games will also be made available at the Games Square.

On selected days, sports matches will also be aired on large screens to promote community bonding, said NEA in a news release.

Timbre Group has been appointed as the managing agent for the new facility on a not-for-profit basis, and just like its Timbre+ hawker centre in one-north, the Yishun Park hawker centre will feature a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tray return system.

The company's proposal was selected out of five submissions to NEA's call for tender in February because it fulfilled the agency's criteria for a socially conscious operator. Such operators ensure quality and affordable food, while improving the operational efficiency of the hawker centres, said NEA.

In line with the Government's efforts to sustain the hawker trade, Timbre Group will set aside two incubator stalls at Yishun Park hawker centre. Potential hawkers will go through an incubation period of up to a year, before they are placed within Timbre's network of F&B outlets or referred to NEA to apply for a stall in another hawker centre.

To ensure meals are affordable for residents, each stall is required to have a minimum of one basic meal priced at S$3 and will introduce bulk purchasing of ingredients to help stallholders defray costs, said NEA.

Timbre is also looking at rolling out a mobile application that allows customers to make cashless payment and order their meals electronically.

The Yishun Park hawker centre will have have 45 cooked food stalls and around 750 seats.