Reducing nuisance to neighbours

The Building & Construction Agency (BCA), through the appropriate legislation, promotes construction management practices that limit environmental degradation. One of the aims of these regulations is to cause the least possible nuisance to neighbours. The provisions included under Schedule I, II, III and IV must be adhered to by anyone carrying out construction works throughout the entire development.

To begin with, individuals carrying out construction work that will take longer than four weeks to complete, must erect a permanent A2 sized notice board on the street boundary of the site. This must be presented three weeks prior to commencement of construction works. Moreover, it must be presented on the façade of the site and is to be seen by the general public at all times.

The details on the notice board must be legible from street level with a minimum font size of 100. One must note that this is to also include the start date and contact number. It shall present the development permit number and information about the owner, Site Manager and the Architect in charge. Additionally, all contractors involved must include their phone numbers. It is paramount that such notices are always kept in good condition, by ensuring that they are sheltered from the weather to avoid any damages. These must be maintained until all works are completed or up until the time deemed appropriate by the BCA.

In any case where the construction site is larger than 1,000 square metres, or has a frontage bordering any road/s in excess of 26 metres, this information shall be displayed on a 1.5 by 2.5 metre billboard. This is to include dates of completion of the principal stages of the project, as well as, the dates of completion of all the stages of the on-going project. One must always ensure that such billboards will not compromise the safety of the public or hinder pedestrian flow.

Furthermore, a copy of the development permit and its renewal/s, if any, together with copies of all plans and elevations, as approved, shall be kept on-site. These must be available at all times for inspection and use by the Enforcement Officers to ensure that works are in-line with their respective permits.

Members of the public may contact the BCA to file a complaint, using the information from the notice board on-site. This may be done whenever one feels that the contractor has not abided by all the regulations that are in place to reduce nuisance to neighbours. This may be the case when, for instance, construction works continue outside of the permissible working hours.

Furthermore, the BCA also ensures that adequate facilities and measures are undertaken so that the site and its immediate vicinity are kept clean. Any trash or debris is to be contained on-site and disposed of in closed waste receptacles, so as to prevent it from being carried off-site into any public area by wind and rain; thus, preventing any harm to the environment.

Construction activity shall not create any discharge of cleaning agents, paints, oil, other pollutants or hazardous waste to public areas or into the sewerage system. In the case that any spillages occur, one must ensure to immediately mop up all spills and sweep, or wash the streets appropriately. Additionally, concrete or mortar mixer wash-out pits and chemical holding areas are to be located away from areas that drain to systems and waterways or third-party property.

The BCA is tasked with enforcing these measures on a daily basis in order to protect and safe-guard the public from any inconvenience that such construction sights may cause.

For more information about these building regulations, kindly visit: www.bca.org.mt