37-41 Oxford Street, Epping NSW 2121

The noise caused from demolition and construction over the next 23 months will be unbearable, from tools generating noise such as jackhammers at 121 dB(A) to electric powered tools at 102dB(A). Many people living around 37-41 Oxford St, either are caring for children, are retired, or have a permanent work-from-home arrangement which is common in this new world.

1) Duration of the noise is going to be a long time:
If the demolition/excavation/shoring stage goes for 6 months, from Monday to Friday 7:00am-5:00pm, this means the equivalent of up to 1,200 hours or 72,000 minutes of painful noise exceeding 75 dB(A). Any noise exceeding 75 dB(A) is unacceptable.
If the construction stage goes 14 months this means the equivalent of up to 3,304 hours or 198,240 minutes of annoying and speech masking noise easily exceeding 55 dB(A).
It may be likely for construction projects to go over their estimated timeframe as well.

2) Have highly effective barriers installed:
With how long the noise will go for, this highlights the need for highly effective sound barriers. The sound barriers to be at least 2 stories tall, as having only ground floor high barriers are insufficient. All surrounding buildings are at least 2 stories tall, and most of these will have line of sight and therefore experience an unrestricted transmission of the noise.
The 2 storey tall sound barriers should apply to both walls and gates all along Oxford St, and should not have any gaps to allow for noise to penetrate through. Such tall sound barriers exist.
With a multi million dollar construction, the cost to implement an effective sound proofing solution to protect the noise amenity for residents is not that much, and is crucial to install. In addition, these sound barriers can be reused in future projects anyway.

If only meeting the minimum requirements of sound proofing with a reduction of only 10dB(A) this will not be effective, and will encourage more strong community complaints.

I suggest a preventative approach to noise is better than a reactive approach to complaints. The sound barrier should be at least 2 storeys tall (about 9 metres), using a sandwich construction of 17mm plywood (with a 45mm air gap) with at least a Rw rating of 28, to provide a 28 dB(A) noise reduction. Alternatively a Speedwall panel providing a Rw 41 would be better. The frontage of Oxford St is about 59m so it is relatively a short distance to cover.

3) Potential to cause distress and hearing damage if not effectively sound proofed:
Any noise around 85 dB(A) for around 8 hours can cause hearing damage and is hazardous. The equipment estimated at the residential receiver is suggested to be up to 87 dB(A) for jackhammers, 83 dB(A) for concrete saws, and 79 dB(A) for Hydraulic drills. The proposed demolition and excavation is suggested to be 10 hours each day (7am to 5pm) so it is easy to imagine hearing damage may result from these major noise disturbances. Even with the proposed 2 hours worth of respite periods each day, this is clearly not enough as the level and duration of hazardous noise is near the 8 hour mark. In addition, noise will cause physical, emotional and mental problems, and will cause more resentment and strong community protest.
In perspective, anything exceeding over 70 dB(A) is already considered hazardous.

4) Saturday construction to stop at 1pm:
The EPA guidelines also recommend construction to stop at 1:00pm on Saturdays. Not only will residents have to endure the noise every weekday, the plan proposed will have residents losing the peace on their Saturday afternoons as well.

Lot of noise caused from demolition is at unacceptable levels

Noise, what about traffic congestion? Try attending a professional appointment after 2pm. on the eastern side of Epping. With parents collecting children from local schools (3 of them in a small radius) around Essex St. it is going to be the site of many accidents in years to come. (I noted a pedestrian with headphones in crossing Epping Road at this time, not at a crossing. An accident waiting to happen, what with the glare of the western sun in drivers's eyes.)

From 2.45, Essex street is gridlocked. Surrounding streets also back up, because good old NSW Government decided we could live with 10,000s more residents in high rise and the same ONE lane streets that have "serviced" this area for 80 years.

We've been sold out and will continue to be sold out. My simple advice, for what it's worth, is to GET OUT while you can.

I totally agree with comments made by other residents (especially Yuen and Nick Dagg) about traffic congestion. In every DA, the developer submits a traffic assessment report on the impact the individual development (and only the individual development!) would have on the local traffic. BUT what about the "culminative" or the "summative" impacts of all the high rise developments have on the local traffic. Add them up and you will find a horrible picture. As Nick and Yuen have pointed out, the traffic congestion in Epping is already at a crisis point! Please do not made life worse for local residents.