SINGAPORE: To address the rise in noise complaints from neighbours during the pandemic, a panel was established to establish community guidelines that can be used during mediation or disputes.
The Community Advisory Panel will conduct surveys with the public to establish community norms. This was stated by the Municipal Services Office (MSO), in a Tuesday release.
These norms will help residents to understand what noise disturbances are acceptable and unacceptable in their community. They will also provide guidance on what behavior could be considered unreasonable or unconsiderate.
These norms will be referred to by the Government when it issues advisories and/or facilitates mediation at the Community Disputes Resolution Tribunal, said MSO, who will be establishing a panel with the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth.
The Housing & Development Board (HDB), which receives about 3,200 noise-related feedback per month in 2021, is up from 400 in 2019, MSO noted.
Sim Ann, Senior Minister of National Development Sim Ann, stated that MSO (Minister of State for National Development) and MCCY were “working on ways agencies would enforce neighbourhood noise using these community norms in reference”.
The panel will include mediators as well as community leaders and experts. It plans to submit its recommendations within one year. It will also hold public consultations on the proposed norms.
FACILITATING GROUP BUYS
A new Alliance for Action (AfA), which will be established to explore ways to facilitate group buying in HDB estates, will also be created. In order to reduce delivery costs and receive discounts from suppliers, group buys have become very popular in recent months. AfAs is an industry-led coalition that works in partnership with the Government.
Ms Sim pointed out that while these activities can be beneficial for small businesses and encourage interaction among residents, they can also cause problems such as cluttered common corridors or blocked walkways.
She said, “We want to find win-win options so that residents can continue in group buying and support small business while minimising inconvenience for others.”
To improve the delivery, storage, and distribution of group buy products, group buy hosts, grassroots leaders, and potential solution providers from private sector will be invited join the AfA by HDB or the Peoples Association.
ENHANCEMENTS TO THE ONESERVICE-APP APP
MSO provided updates on the OneService app. It allows users to submit feedback, access other municipal services, and MSO stated that its user base has increased tenfold since its launch in 2015. It is now used by more than 430,000 people.
New enhancements include a feature that allows residents to check crowd levels in public libraries.
The app has been updated to allow residents to book, pay and apply for town council facilities such as void decks directly through it. Residents used to have to apply in person at the town councils offices.
For example, a resident may request to book the voiddeck for a wake. His personal information can be obtained from official sources with his consent and the details of the deceased for verification by the town councils.
This will allow the applicant to not have to produce supporting documents at (town councils) offices when booking facilities.
Residents will be able to submit feedback via the LifeSG App, which is available from the second half this year. From next year, LifeSG will offer more OneService e services, such as booking facilities.
OneService introduced a Help Neighbour feature last year to allow users to alert social agencies to those in crisis, including rough sleepers, cardboard collectors, and tissue paper sellers.
Users had referred 272 cases to the agencies as of January 31st. MSO said that about half of these cases were new cases that weren’t on the radars of agencies. CNA
