Noise

The council expects building contractors undertaking construction and maintenance works, to comply with our Construction Code of Practice (see download below) or agree appropriate variations with us. This will enable them to comply with the Control of Pollution Act 1974.

The purpose of the code of practice is to ensure that disturbances due to noise, vibration, dust and smoke arising from demolition and construction works on all building sites are kept to an acceptable level.

The code of practice restricts noisy work to:

These hours apply to substantial construction works not DIY or a one-off piece of work. They are predominantly in place to offer respite to residents from on-going noise from construction or demolition.

Where noisy works are required to be completed at night, contractors must demonstrate an overriding reason why the work cannot be done during the prescribed hours. This should not be simply because the works are behind schedule or it is more economical to work at night.

Regardless of the time of day, the responsible party must use best practicable means to minimise the noise. Further details are provided in the code of practice.

Home improvements such as DIY works inside a dwellings are not classed as construction work and are therefore not subject to the hours specified above. However, noisy DIY can be a statutory nuisance depending on the time of day, the duration and loudness of the works. The council can deal with such problems in the manner described for loud music (see the loud music link above).

For more information contact the pollution enforcement team.