Construction Work Near Repton School Halted During Class Time

Abu Dhabi: The Abu Dhabi City Municipality (ADM) has ordered construction work near Repton School be stopped from 7am to 4pm in response to requests from parents, the authority said on Sunday.

Parents were concerned about the high noise level because of construction work at a site next to the school.

On Sunday, the ADM said the order to halt construction work during the specified time “reflects the keenness of the municipality to provide a safe educational environment in school buildings and general surroundings”.

It added the move “also underscores the importance of providing safety and stability for all students and employees in a modern educational system that contributes to creating an educational environment capable of dealing with everyone in accordance with an advanced educational methodology. This methodology leads to excellence in performance and, therefore, as a service entity, the municipality is committed to providing all means of security and contributing to providing a safe environment in the surrounds of school, free of any disturbances to the educational process”.

The municipality said it had interacted and listened to the concerns of parents of students in Repton School regarding the noise from the construction site adjacent to the school.

The municipality believes that such sound may affect the activity and productivity of students and the staff, and may leave an impact on students as well. “The Abu Dhabi City Municipality emphasised that it is keen to control noise levels throughout the city and populated residential areas through measuring the noise levels generated from sites under construction periodically. It also attends to preventing any noise, reducing noise pollution, and ensuring that the intensity of noise must not exceed the permitted international standards,” it said.

Addressing the issue of vibrations, the ADM said the vibrations resulting from the adjacent project do not pose any danger to the buildings nearby.

“These vibrations are within the permitted international standards, and they result from foundation work, which requires the use of special machinery and equipment. The school building and the newly constructed buildings are all in conformity with Abu Dhabi International Building Codes and are resistant to vibrations. These vibrations do not pose any danger to the safety of buildings, staff and students.”

The municipality said it “is seeking to bring convenience to students and staff of the school. Therefore, and in order to safeguard the academic process in the school, the municipality has directed the developer of the area as well as the consultant and contractor of the project to cease works completely during school time”.

“A permit was issued conveying the revised working hours of the project contractor at the said site from 4pm to 6.30am as of February 19, 2018, in order to avoid noise or vibrations during the school hours.”