With the advancement of Singapore, old buildings that are key figures to the country's history and heritage are being torn down in the path of redevelopment. The purpose of this paper is to assess the differing level of public participation, power of each major stakeholder, as well as considerations made for the protection of the intangible aspects of heritage such as spirit of place, amidst the conservation process. This study is done through a case study on the recent heritage conservation cases of the Pearl Bank Apartments and Golden Mile Complex. Empirical data obtained from major stakeholder groups, residents, the government, developers and civil society organisations are gathered for an analysis against Arnstein Sherry's 'A Ladder of Public Participation' to measure the public's level of citizen power. It is shown that members of the public bear only tokenistic power in influencing the outcome of conservation results, and there is a lack of transparent process and appropriate platforms that meaningfully engage all stakeholders to ensure holistic heritage conservation that considers the intangible aspects in addition to the physical fabric of the building. It is proposed that Singapore should develop a supportive legal framework that incorporates public participation at a higher level and involves members of the public at the decision-making level.