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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
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 41 and 42)
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 excessive noise 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 is often a difficult one to
solve, especially as any unwanted sound may be described as a noise and reaction
to it may vary.
To assist in dealing with complaints, a Sound Level Meter and Octave Band
Analyser was purchased by the department during the year. This instrument measures
the sound level in decibels, with "weightings" applied to approximate to the sensitivity
of the human ear under varying conditions. Current practice tends to confine
readings of over-all sound to the "A" weighting, results being expressed in decibels
A (dBA.). In addition, readings can be taken of the sound level in different frequency
ranges, from 31 cycles per second to 8,000 cycles per second. This is useful in
identifying the particular component of a noise which is causing nuisance.
There are no legal standards for noise, other than those which apply to road
vehicles, which are enforced by the police. The Wilson Report and the British
Standard 4142, Method of Rating Industrial Noise, suggest certain criteria above
which complaints may be expected. Applying these criteria involves measuring the
ambient or background noise and the noise complained of, and making certain
corrections to allow for local conditions. Experience in the borough has shown,
however, that with many complaints the noise falls below the level of these criteria,
although the complaints seem reasonable and well-founded. This may in part be due
to the increasing publicity given to noise nuisance, and the rising standards in matters
affecting environment. The Wilson Report was published in 1966 and the British
Standard in 1967.
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