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other trades offensive. The business of a dealer in butchers' wastes was so declared
an offensive trade and is the only such premises in the borough. Twelve visits were
paid to this establishment and conditions were found to be satisfactory.
INSPECTIONS AND COMPLAINTS
The work of the public health inspectors, based on principles of good environmental
hygiene, remains the same : pure water, clean food, clean air, adequate
shelter and the removal of conditions inimical to healthy surroundings.
A total of 52,287 visits, an increase of about 9% over last year, was made to
a variety of premises including dwelling houses, business and industrial premises
and places in which food is handled. Many matters were resolved without the
necessity of serving notices but arising from defects and shortcomings found on
these visits, 658 informal and 235 statutory notices were served resulting in repairs
and sanitary improvements being carried out. Legal proceedings were instituted
in 12 instances resulting in fines of £25 with £54 17s. 6d. costs.
Requests and complaints on a wide range of matters numbered 5,273. Of this
total 1,502 were notifications of blocked or defective drains. Although the responsibility
rests with owners to clear and repair drains the council provides a free
service designed to eliminate in the shortest possible time what may constitute a
hazard to public health because owners often experience difficulty in obtaining trade
labour at short notice.
Reference is made elsewhere in the report to the number of requests for the
destruction of wasps' nests and complaints of infestation by rats and mice.
(See Statistical Tables 45 and 46)
NOISE
The Noise Abatement Act, 1960, makes provision in respect of the control
of noise and vibration and enables a local authority to deal with it as a statutory
nuisance in accordance with the procedure in the Public Health Act, 1936. It
makes specific provision to deal with loudspeakers in the street, and also enables
three or more persons aggrieved by a noise nuisance to make a complaint to a
Justice of the Peace. Powers for local authorities to deal with the playing of noisy
musical instruments, amplifiers, etc., and the keeping of noisy animals, and noisy
hawking, are given by Good Rule and Government Bye-laws made under the Local
Government Act, 1933.
Noise continues to be an increasing problem and often a difficult one to solve,
especially as any unwanted sound may be described as a noise and the reaction to
it varies from one person to another.
In April a Joint Circular on Industrial Noise was issued by the Ministry of
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