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67
Recently, under Section 146 of the London Government Act,
1939, the Council made a byelaw prohibiting the operation of any
wireless loudspeaker, gramophone, amplifier or similar instrument
to the annoyance of the public. Similarly, a further byelaw was
made banning shouting or the use of a bell, gong or other noisy
instrument for the purpose of hawking, selling, distributing or
advertising any article so as to cause annoyance to the inhabitants
of the neighbourhood
Previously, power to deal summarily with a noise nuisance
under the Public Health (London) Act, 1936, was given to Councils of the Metropolitan Boroughs by Section 66 of the L.C.C.
(General Powers) Act, 1937, such nuisance being defined in subsection 3 as "any excessive or unreasonable or unnecessary noise
which is injurious or dangerous to health". The new Act amends
this to read "any noise which is a nuisance", a definition which is
very vague and will have to be determined by the magistrate.
For a local authority to require its abatement, a noise or vibration nuisance now need not necessarily be injurious or dangerous
to health. It must be admitted, having outlined the statutory aspect
of the problem, that nuisances arising as a result of noise are
extremely difficult to assess for noise constituting a nuisance to one
person may pass unnoticed or even be enjoyed by a neighbour.
Indeed with regard to noises and vibrations resulting
from trade or business it is a defence in any proceedings to show
that the best practical means have been used to prevent or counteract
the effects and therein lies the difficulty for local authorities.
During the year, although some 12 relatively minor complaints
were received, most of the department's efforts in respect to noise
nuisances were directed towards ameliorating a serious complaint
which was being investigated towards the end of the previous
year. It concerned a large local firm and the complaint
was that noise, sufficient to cause nuisance to the inhabitants of
the neighbourhood, was being emitted at all hours of the day
and night, the nuisance being more acute during the night and
more particularly on warm nights when windows were wide open.
With the co-operation of the Scientific Branch of the London
County Council, noise readings were taken over a 24-hour period on
a number of occasions, as a result of which, observations were
sought from the management of the firm concerned. They indicated
that the nuisance arose from the fact that, due to large export
orders, it was necessary to utilise the plant for the full 24 hours of
the day. Some reduction in the noise was achieved by various
methods but by the end of the year it was still doubtful whether
this improvement would eventually be considered satisfactory.