The Parliament Secures School Playgrounds: Children Can Continue Enjoying Recess

Children in Catalonia will be able to continue playing in their school playgrounds without having to lower their voices. They can bounce the ball with all their might and kick it against the wall without fear of disturbing the neighbours living nearby. The controversy has long divided the educational community and the public in Catalonia, especially in Barcelona: Should the noise from playgrounds adjacent to residential buildings be limited?

In Barcelona, complaints from some residents living next to school football and basketball courts, particularly those located within inner blocks, had even led to the sealing off of sports fields. This will no longer be possible. On Wednesday, the Parliament unanimously approved (a rare occurrence in a highly fragmented chamber) a law to protect school playgrounds. Specifically, the Catalan chamber, with affirmative votes from all groups, approved amending the Catalan law on protection against noise pollution. As a result, school playgrounds will not have to comply with the current regulations on maximum noise thresholds.

The exemption will allow exceeding the limits set by the Catalan law against noise pollution, as well as any limits established by other municipal regulations. This exemption for playgrounds will be from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., and for sports courts from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m., thus including extracurricular activities for children who stay to play football, basketball, or volleyball after school hours.

The case of the Salesians of Rocafort in Barcelona was significant. Nearly 700 students were left without physical education classes and extracurricular activities after the City Council decided to seal off their sports fields. A complaint from some neighbours took effect under the municipal environmental ordinance. The problem with this regulation is that it equates the noise made by a group of young people drinking beer on a terrace with the screams of children when they miss a penalty or are caught in a game of tag. The debate has been ongoing for months. Should the administration make exceptions for educational centres, or should noise regulations apply equally to everyone under all circumstances?

In the Gràcia neighbourhood of Barcelona, some residents fed up with the noise took the matter to court, but the justice system has yet to resolve it. In this neighbourhood, the Barcelona City Council urged the school to take measures to reduce the volume, under the threat of ordering the cessation of activities. The problem for some of the schools caught in the controversy was not so much the noise from recess, but rather, as is often the case in all walks of life, there are always those who try to take advantage of the situation. Some schools rent out their facilities to sports clubs, and it is in this overuse of resources that excess noise is generated.

The Parliament ultimately sided with the educational centres and changed the regulations based on the premise that the noise from a school is not the same as street noise.