View report page

22
In London, Section 66 of the London County Council (General Powers)
Act, 1937, has for many years given Metropolitan Borough Councils power to deal
with noise as a nuisance under the Public Health (London) Act, 1936, where a
person made or caused to be made or continued an excessive or unreasonable or
unnecessary noise which was injurious or dangerous to health.
The Noise Abatement Act, 1960, amended this Section to conform with
the new meaning of noise nuisance.
Local authorities are now able to require the abatement of a noise
or vibration nuisance (not necessarily injurious or dangerous to health) by
the service of an abatement notice on the person causing the nuisance, and, if
the notice is not complied with, it can be enforced by proceedings in a
Magistrates' Court.
Apart from action by a local authority, any three or more occupiers
of land or premises who are aggrieved by a noise or vibration nuisance may
make complaint direct to a Magistrate.
Complaints are received in the department from time to time
regarding noise nuisances, mainly arising as a result of industrial work.
Remedies are generally secured without recourse to legal action, but in one
case legal proceedings were instituted against the occupier of a factory
causing a noise nuisance in operating their works.
It should be noted that, in the case of noise or vibration caused in
the course of a trade or business, it is a defence in any proceedings to show
that the best practicable means have been used for preventing it and
counteracting its effect.
Section 2 of the Act deals with the use of loudspeakers in streets.
It prohibits their use for any purpose between 9.00 p.m. and 8.00 a.m.,
except in the special circumstances defined in sub-section 2 of the section,
and at any other time for advertising any trade, business or entertainment,
with the exception that between noon and 7.00 p.m. a loudspeaker fixed to a
vehicle used for the sale of perishable foodstuffs may be operated to announce
that the commodities are on sale; the loudspeaker is, however, not to be so
operated as to give reasonable cause for annoyance to persons in the
vicinity.
One successful prosecution was undertaken during the year, and the
offender was fined £5.0s.0d. and £1.1s.0d. costs awarded to the Council.
PUBLIC BATHS
The Minister of Health (Circular 1/60) has requested that reference
should be made to any public swimming baths in the borough.
The Council have provided indoor swimming pools at the Public
Baths situated in North Kensington at the junction of Lancaster Road and
Silchester Road.
The original building was constructed about seventy years ago and
no major structural alterations have since taken place. There were four
swimming pools, two of which have now been discontinued. The swimming pools
now available are as follows:-
(1) The large mixed swimming pool.
(2) The small mixed swimming pool.
The large pool has an area of approximately 4,500 square feet and
the smaller one is one-third of this area.
Both pools are available for swimming in the summer months, midApril
to mid-October, but during the winter months only the large pool will
be available to the public.