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AGRICULTURE (SAFETY, HEALTH AND WELFARE PROVISIONS) ACT, 1965
There are 81 agricultural units in the Borough and all were inspected during the year. It was
not necessary to take statutory action in respect of any of these premises.
SHOPS ACT, 1950 TO 1965
EMPLOYMENT OF YOUNG PERSONS ACT, 1938 TO 1964
This legislation controls the hours of employment of young persons and includes restrictions
on night-work, regulates the opening hours and half-day closing of shops, Sunday opening and
compensatory leave and provides for rest and meal breaks for employees. The Shops (Airports)
Act, 1962 exempts the shops at Heathrow and other Airports from the half-day closing provisions,
but there has been no approach to the Council for the introduction of six day trading in any other
part of the Borough. Individual traders have asked if six day trading is permitted but if a formal
application for six day trading was received it would be necessary to obtain the views of all
persons engaged in that particular trade and there is no indication that the majority of traders in
this Borough would require this facility.
There is a restriction against carrying on certain trades on a Sunday and this has caused
considerable difficulty during the year. Undoubtedly there is a customer demand for the sale of
prohibited goods but as the law stands the Council is required to enforce the Sunday Closing
provisions.
A Sunday market was opened on the car park at the Hayes Football Club and whilst there
was obvious consumer support there was also great objection from local shopkeepers and residents.
118 prosecutions have been instituted against persons for infringement of the Sunday
Trading restrictions. Nineteen of these were against shopkeepers and 99 were against stall holders
in the Hayes Market. Of these prosecutions 21 are still awaiting to be heard and 83 were successful
and fines totalling £73 were imposed on the shopkeepers and £204 on the stall holders and the
Council was awarded costs totalling £16 and £61 respectively.
NOISE
Noise complaints have increased and 124 complaints were received during the year.
Noise does seem to create maximum disturbance to people and any noise which is faintly
discernible if caused by a commercial enterprise in a mainly residential area has the ability to annoy
any local resident who objects to that commercial development. This statement is not intended
to be an attempt to justify one complainant as against another but to indicate the serious personal
anxieties that can be caused to individuals. The question of what is considered to be nuisance
varies widely and complaint has arisen from the use at 8.10 a.m. of commercial transport in a
mainly residential area. Any attempt to assess noise as a nuisance solely on the basis of a sound
pressure level recorded on an instrument, no matter how this pressure is weighted to calculate
a level of annoyance to "the average man" can never be totally successful.
Although it was reported in the 1970 annual report that because of the noise levels, houses
in the immediate vicinity of the extension to number 1 runway at Heathrow Airport were unsuitable
for residential use, it is still not possible to report that this matter has been resolved. Jet aircraft
have been banned between 1st April—31 st October, 1972 from taking off from Heathrow between
the hours of 23.30 and 06.00, but no reference has yet been made to aircraft landing at Heathrow.
The measurements taken at Longford did not indicate any appreciable difference between the
noise level due to landing or take off. During 1971 two other potential and serious sources of
noise have had to be considered. In both cases it was considered that the criteria of noise level
inside a dwelling house which was established by the Wilson Committee in their report of 1963
was the most appropriate. These levels are 55 dBA during the day and 35 dBA at night. Both levels,
it is considered, refer to houses with the windows open to the degree that would be normal without
any consideration of noise. The first source of potential noise was the Ringway 3 road which will
affect many parts of the Borough and the second was the establishment of a power station by
the Central Electricity Generating Board in the southern part of the Borough. Recommendations
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