A PROPOSAL to tweak the rules to make it easier for restaurants, pubs and shops to offer live entertainment and do on-site cooking is making residents of private housing estates nervous.

To them, relaxed planning guidelines will bring noise, parking woes and oily kitchen fumes to their quiet neck of the woods.

The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) announced on Aug 29 that it was considering cutting the red tape for businesses, especially those seeking to set up shop in private housing estates. It is collecting views from the public on the move, aimed at injecting vibrancy into these areas.