SINGAPORE - There have been 27 cases of town councils temporarily closing or restricting the opening hours of recreational facilities in Housing Board estates in the past three years due to complaints from residents on issues like noise.

Giving these figures in a written answer on Feb 5 to a parliamentary question from Mr Alex Yam (Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC), National Development Minister Desmond Lee said this move is a last resort when disruptive behaviour by inconsiderate users of the facilities persists, even after advisories have been put up and grassroots leaders have advised users.

Restricting the use of facilities to specific hours, he said, is done by adjusting the timing of the lighting at the facilities or locking up the facilities at night.

Town councils may also seek assistance from the police and other government agencies such as the National Parks Board and the National Environmental Agency (NEA) if the disruptive behaviour persists, he said.

A few public amenities across Singapore were closed in recent months over noise complaints in residential estates.

A void deck in Woodlands Ring Road was barricaded temporarily by Sembawang Town Council in November 2023 after residents complained about schoolchildren playing and shouting.

A month later, a street soccer court in Bedok North was temporarily closed in response to reports of “groups of inconsiderate street soccer court users” creating noise late into the night.

Separately, Law and Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam said in a written reply to Ms Ng Ling Ling (Ang Mo Kio GRC) that the Government is looking at making mediation mandatory for certain cases of disputes, as part of its review of the Community Dispute Management Framework (CDMF).

If mediation is made mandatory, front-line officers could step in and mandate mediation for certain types of community disputes, such as cases that are long-drawn or escalated between neighbours.

Mr Shanmugam said: “We are also looking at mandating re-mediation for cases where voluntary mediation was previously attempted and parties arrived at an amicable resolution, but the dispute resurfaces later.

“With the history of an amicable resolution through mediation, there is value in mandating mediation for such cases.”

He said the Government is also studying ways to address concerns that come with mandatory mediation.

Some concerns raised during public engagement include the risk of potential retaliation, and abuse by those insisting on mediation without genuine intent to resolve the dispute, he said.

In the last three years, less than 30 per cent of applications at the Community Mediation Centre involving disputes between neighbours had proceeded to mediation. For cases that proceeded to mediation, more than 80 per cent reached an amicable resolution.

Leader of the Opposition Pritam Singh asked in a separate question if the Ministry of National Development would implement the recommendation by the Community Advisory Panel on Neighbourhood Noise – which was set up to address noise-related issues faced by residents – to have a noise threshold for neighbourhood noise.

Mr Lee said a review on establishing a threshold for residential noise is ongoing, and is expected to be completed by the end of 2024.

“The Municipal Services Office is partnering researchers from Nanyang Technological University to determine if noise thresholds adopted elsewhere are relevant to the Singapore context, and, if so, how they could be applied practically in regulation and dispute resolution,” he said.

The Community Advisory Panel on Neighbourhood Noise had earlier recommended that a quantitative noise threshold in the form of decibels be put in place to help the assessment of egregious cases of neighbourhood noise.

Currently, NEA has established noise limits in terms of decibels to regulate the noise level from construction sites and factory premises in Singapore, but there is no such limit for neighbourhood noise generated by residents.

Mr Lee said that to encourage considerate use of common spaces, town councils have put up posters and educational content on various platforms.

Various agencies including the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth, the People’s Association, and the Municipal Services Office also promote neighbourliness through community events, campaigns and outreach.

Mr Lee said: “We encourage all members of the public to be considerate when using shared facilities in our estates.

“Our shared public spaces play a pivotal role in bringing residents from all walks of life together, and thus help to build closer neighbourly ties. We should be mindful that there are different needs from various groups in our community.

“We need to adopt a give-and-take spirit and be willing to accommodate the needs of others, to build a more harmonious and inclusive community.”

In a reply to Workers’ Party MP Gerald Giam (Aljunied GRC) on Feb 6, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Edwin Tong said the Government intends to amend existing legislation for resolving neighbour disputes in 2024. 

This would put three enhancements to the CDMF into action, including mandatory mediation for some cases, and a dedicated unit with powers to investigate and take enforcement action against neighbours who intentionally cause noise disturbances.

An initial team has already been formed and is currently working closely with the HDB, grassroots organisations and other agencies to develop operational protocols to address severe neighbour noise cases, Mr Tong said. 

The amendment of the legislation will also put into effect the enhancement of the Community Disputes Resolution Tribunals processes, to simplify services for residents. 

Further details on the implementation of the proposed enhancements will be provided in due course, Mr Tong added.