The council of Kensington and Chelsea have decided – after the level of complaints about noisy construction works rose significantly – to ban all such works on Saturdays, as well as Sundays and Bank Holidays.
“Noisy works†is defined as noise above the ambient level which can be heard beyond the boundary of the building site. It will be measured and monitored from neighbouring premises, such as hospitals, schools, offices and residential properties.
Such works on weekdays will be further restricted to the hours between 8am and 6pm, and ‘percussive’ noise, such as concrete breaking and demolition, is further restricted to between 9am and noon, and between 2pm and 5.30pm. Any owner doing DIY works on his own property is exempt from this, unless the works are of a similar scale to a development site
A draft Code of Construction Practice was on public consultation for 16 weeks last year, and the council voted on it on the 11th February 2016. It will be enforced through powers which are given by the Control of Pollution Act 1974.
Local Councillor for Environmental Health, Tim Ahern, said that although he fully recognised “the importance of building and construction work in the boroughâ€, it was also important that residents were allowed to enjoy their weekends.
“This new Code of Practice .. will help bring peace on the weekends and require developers to work far more closely with people who live close to their sites to mitigate, wherever possible, the problems associated with noise, dust and disturbance.â€
*Back to February 2016 Newsletter*
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