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Residents still suffering from school’s noises Is construction more important than our welfare?

Letter from Lee Shing Kian
Letter from Ane Wong Holloway

On Monday morning, I received a call from the National Environment Agency (NEA), informing me that the project manager of the construction of the Raffles Institution hostel had called and apologised for the noise and promised that they would be mindful and considerate to the neighbours.

I presume that the contractor had contacted the NEA late last week, so it was ironic that on Sunday morning at about 6am, the construction workers started to remove debris from the higher floors of the hostel.

They dumped the debris from the ninth storey, throwing concrete, metal bits and other materials over the parapet and onto the ground, without any chute or cover or care about the dust and noise.

Promises that they will act with consideration for the neighbours have been empty so far. We have been complaining of noisy construction activities late at night and early in the morning since last year.

The NEA also told me that — despite all the noise that has prevented my family from getting decent sleep these last few weeks — no regulation was violated.

I want to be reasonable, and it is not my intention to have them stop all work as I understand that the contractors and the school have a schedule to meet, but perhaps they should not be allowed to work after, say, 9pm.

I suggest that any construction located within 400m of a residential building should not be allowed to do any work after 9pm and any violation of that rule should involve some form of compensation to the residents within that radius. This is not so much that we can be compensated for the loss of sleep but as a disincentive for the contractor and the developer.

Who would be responsible if I got involved in an accident because I had not been able to sleep well the previous night?

The authorities seem to put the construction industry and the economy ahead of the welfare of our people, going by the regulations on the NEA’s website.

In short, as long as the maximum noise readings during a specified period of time do not breach the maximum decibel level permitted for that period, work carries on. Perhaps the National Environment Agency (NEA) could share if it knows of other cities in the world where construction is legally permitted round the clock?

Source : Today - 23 May 2007