In Sept 2011, the Singapore Government had announced the upcoming construction of a new dual four-lane road (now known as Lornie Highway) in Bukit Brown Cemetery commencing in 2013. This construction would require the exhumation of approximately 4,000 graves︎︎︎, and would also physically split the cemetery in two.

SHS has since led the debate on Bukit Brown by highlighting the conflict between heritage, development and urbanisation and its importance to Singapore’s history and the Chinese in Southeast Asia. It also argued that the Bukit Brown issue offered new opportunities for discussions on nation building and making the younger generation interested in history and heritage issues.