Noise Management Plan

As professional operators of Little Feet Childcare Centre we acknowledge that we have a primary responsibility to ensure that our premises do not generate excessive noise disturbance. The purpose of this noise management plan is to detail the procedures we aim to adopt to ensure, as far as possible, the minimisation of disturbance to local residents by activities in and around the Centre.

The potential sources of noise from Little Feet Childcare Centre are:

• Children using the outdoor play area;
• Vehicle movements and voices in the outdoor play area;
• Activities inside the childcare centre building; and

The main source of noise and the one that has the greatest potential to exceed the noise limit is children using the outdoor play area. Acoustic fencing has been erected to protect immediate neighbours, which in combination with a high standard of supervision is predicted to maintain noise at compliant levels.

Because of the street frontage parking locations and the existing road traffic noise there will minimal effects from on-site vehicle movements on neighbouring properties and the fence along the northern boundary will ensure compliant levels on the adjacent property.

The building layout has been designed with the quieter activity rooms (office, under 2’s sleep and play areas) on the northern side close to the property boundary. Even with windows open for ventilation, there will be sufficient distance separation and screening attenuation to control noise from within the building to compliant levels, but staff may consider closing some or all windows during singing and musical activities to minimise boundary noise levels.

Because of concerns of the effects of noise on neighbouring properties specific training will be provided to ensure that:

• Staff are fully aware of the need to control excessively noisy behaviour to maintain compliance with the District Plan noise limits;
• Outdoor play activities are designed and managed to maintain children’s interest and attention;
• Whilst active play is encouraged, screaming and shouting is not – it is considered that this type of behaviour can be intimidating to other children;
• There is no use of percussive, hard wheeled and other potentially noisy toys in the outdoor play area;
• Outdoor music activities will only be offered on the covered deck and noise from these will be kept within required limits and
• Centre book is regularly read to children to remind them of the effect of noise on neighbours.