Debated in Parliament on 21 Feb 2014.
Mr Zainal Sapari asked the Minister for National Development (a) what is the current number of coffeeshops located at or near HDB flats that are allowed to operate 24 hours; (b) what is the current number of supermarkets and convenience stores located within HDB housing estates that are allowed to operate 24 hours; (c) what actions are taken to minimise the inconvenience and noise to residents caused by these 24-hour operations; and (d) whether HDB can consider curtailing such operating hours to reduce the noise and inconvenience to residents living within close proximity to these premises.
There are currently about 250 coffee shops and 170 supermarkets and convenience stores located within HDB estates which are operating 24 hours a day.
To minimise potential inconvenience and noise, HDB will engage such operators to put in place appropriate measures before they begin operations. These include restricted times for delivery of goods by suppliers, restrictions on unpacking activities at night and switching off vehicle engines during loading and unloading of goods. Coffeeshop operators are additionally required to operate their outdoor refreshment areas only within the hours of 6.00 am to 11.00 pm. HDB conducts regular inspections, including late night and early morning inspections to ensure that the operators adhere to the specified
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measures.
Generally, the operators will cooperate with HDB and adhere to our advice. In situations where there are repeated complaints, HDB will work with the relevant Government agencies to ensure that these facilities do not generate noise and inconvenience to surrounding residents.
Mdm Speaker, I would like to ask the Senior Minister of State this: before HDB approves such operations in the estates, how does HDB engage grassroots leaders or other stakeholders to seek their opinions and also to discuss how to mitigate any inconveniences to residents? The Senior Minister of State talked about restrictions on delivery times: can he elaborate what are the times that are allowed for these operators to receive supplies of their goods?
Mdm Speaker, generally, HDB does not specify or restrict the time of operation of business establishments in the estate. That is the general rule. In other words, businesses are free to operate in the hours they deem fit, but for certain areas such as the Outdoor Restriction Areas (ORA), HDB will consult the advisors and grassroots organisations to ensure that the ORA operators operate within the specific hours, such as stopping operations before 11.00 pm.
We also should realise that 24-hour shops and supermarkets exist for a purpose: there is demand and they cater to workers who work night shifts such as taxi drivers and healthcare workers. Some of them, indeed, serve to cater to that demand.
In balancing the needs of the residents, we have to take a balanced approach. Yes, there have been complaints but the complaints are rather small in perspective. For example, last year, HDB received 60 cases of feedback on noise disturbances from 24-hour coffee shops. This is about 5% of the 1,200 coffee shops that there are altogether. There is less than 1% complaints about 24-hour supermarkets. These are manageable. But we also realise that for specific stores and supermarkets, there may be repeated infringement. In those cases, we really got to work very closely with the advisors and grassroots organisations to ensure that the business owners know what are the requirements and HDB will enforce those requirements.
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