RESIDENTS have described it like living in a sandstorm, while the pounding sound from the constant rock breaking at a building site in Barry has left people miserable.
This is according to Kirstie King, who sent in videos of the horrendous banging sound of builders breaking rock as they cut into a quarry on Coldbrook Road East to build houses.
Watch and listen to the video below of the constant banging that can go from 9am to 4pm Monday to Friday after Vale Council, in collaboration with Pegasus Development, gave permission for 20 energy-efficient apartments to be built on the site.
Stay-at-home mum Ms King, who lives opposite the site on Church Terrace, says the dust from the rock breaking can be as thick as a sandstorm.
Ms King said her children complain of sore throats and her partner had to up his dosage of asthma medication as the work progresses.
She said: “The dust billowing has been constant for months, from Monday to Friday, and as you can imagine everyone is absolutely miserable with the constant noise and dust affecting our health.”
Now the Vale Council admit the noise is as much as 83 decibels – to put that in context, according to the Center For Disease Control and Prevention, a whisper is about 30 dB, normal conversation is about 60 dB, and a motorcycle engine running is about 95 dB.
The CDCP say noise above 70 dB over a prolonged period of time may start to damage hearing.
Watch the video below and listen to the noise from the construction site
The council said the disruption is an unavoidable impact of providing new homes, although environmental factors have made the construction worse.
A spokesperson said: “The council recognises that new developments can bring with them certain impacts during the construction phase.
“It is likely that such impacts have been heightened by the period of prolonged dry weather, but site contractors are taking measures daily to try minimise further dust affecting nearby properties.”
‘Rock encountered has been harder to deal with than expected’
When asked if they have a plan in place to reduce the disturbance during construction, the council said the contractor had set up barriers to try and prevent excessive noise and vibration from escaping the site – this is as we reveal the noise is not far off that of a motorbike engine.
A council spokesperson said: “Regular noise readings are taken from directly opposite the site along Coldbrook Road East and directly opposite the rock breaking activities and the recorded average readings during rock breaking activities is 83 dB.”
Listen to the noise in the video below as rock breaking can go on from 9am to 4pm causing a headache for local residents
When pressed on whether they foresaw the implications of the construction, the council said: “Any new development will potentially have an element of disruption for surrounding residents and the council’s contractor has been as diligent as possible.”
The council did admit there have been delays with the breaking and removal of the rock, saying the rock encountered has been harder to deal with than expected.
The rock removal, which is causing much of the banging sound, has ran for a month now and is currently set to finish within weeks.
The council went on to say: “In terms of dust suppression - which unfortunately is more excessive than usual because of the extended dry spell with little or no rain – the contractor operates a permanent boundary sprinkler system to dampen down dust.
“The contractor has also offered free window washing and car cleaning to residents that have been affected.”
Are you suffering living next to the construction at Coldbrook East? Let us know by emailing harry.jamshidian@newsquest.co.uk.
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