View report page

LAUNDRY SERVICE
The service continues with a once weekly collection. The department's
drivers and the laundry staff at the Chadwell Heath Hospital are very co-operative
and they ensure that the service is operating in a satisfactory manner.
An average of 35 cases used the service at any any one time, which shows
a slight decrease on last year's figure of 40.
During the year 224 visits were paid to premises as a result of complaints
of noise. This indicates a slight rise on last year thus continuing the trend
towards "noise consciousness" by residents.
Complaints were varied in nature and included noise from building sites,
machinery in a bakery, wood cutting apparatus and from machinery used in the
supply and purification of water in a swimming pool.
The work is time consuming and night visits are often required as sounds
which are lost in the general background levels in day time become prominent
during the hours of darkness when these levels reduce.
In all cases the owners of plants showed a willingness to co-operate
and carry out works to minimise the cause of complaint.
It is the policy of the department to deal with all complaints of noise
in a formal manner. Informal action can result in a reduction of the nuisance
to a level where legal action might fail, while the complainant is still
affected and dissatisfied with the action taken.
Once again I regret to report that no progress was made in respect
of smoke control areas. The Council still felt that the extension of
smoke control areas in the Borough must be deferred due to the continued
financial crisis.
NOISE ABATEMENT ACT, i960
ATMOSPHERIC POLLUTION