Barbecue pits in popular parks fully booked for weekend on…

SINGAPORE – Singaporeans looking to return to barbecuing in parks will have to wait for a while.

Barbecue pits in popular venues, such as East Coast Park, are fully booked for the weekend, with Friday (March 18) being the first day that these outdoor social spaces for public use were reopened after being shuttered since last year.

Checks on the AXS booking system by The Straits Times showed that barbecue pits in East Coast Park are fully booked from Friday to Sunday.

The pits at Pasir Ris Park and Changi Beach Park have been snapped up for the rest of the weekend.

The National Parks Board (NParks) told ST it has processed about 310 barbecue pit bookings and 1,090 camping permits for the weekend.

Slots for the following weekend are also in high demand, with 250 barbecue pits booked and 740 camping permits issued for March 25 to 27 across all parks with the amenities.

Campers have also rushed to secure weekend permits to camp on offshore islands. Island campsites will be reopened from March 29.

As at March 17, the Singapore Land Authority (SLA) has issued 24 permits for Eagle Lodge on St John’s Island and 68 permits for campsites on Lazarus Island and Pulau Hantu Besar.

Most of the permits for weekends and public holidays were snapped up, with “only a few weekend slots left available” from March 29 till June 18.

The reopening of barbecue pits and campsites comes after Singapore announced its simplified Covid-19 safe management measures on March 11 due to the receding threat of Omicron and falling number of infections.

Since Tuesday, Singaporeans can, via the AXS system, apply for camping permits and the use of barbecue pits in gardens and parks managed by NParks.

HDB residents can also book barbecue pits in their estates through their town councils.

Bookings for campsites on offshore islands were also opened on Tuesday.