Try our new waste collection postcode checker
An easy way to check whether your home has been assessed for wheelie bins or an alternative from September
Construction site noise
Construction site noise
Each year, the council receives over 100 complaints from people affected by noise from construction sites. Environmental Health has enforcement powers to deal with excessive noise from construction sites.
Legislation
The legislation concerning construction/renovation noise is the Control of Pollution Act 1974 (CoPA) and statutory nuisance under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 (EPA).
In general, the times when the council regards construction as being acceptable in Milton Keynes, under the Control of Pollution Act 1974 is:
- 8am-6pm Monday to Friday
- 8am-1pm Saturday
- No works on Sundays or Bank Holidays
The Act applies to works as follows:
(a) the erection, construction, alteration, repair or maintenance of buildings, structures or roads;
(b) breaking up, opening or boring under any road or adjacent land in connection with the construction, inspection, maintenance or removal of works;
(c) demolition or dredging work.
We often find that site operators are unaware of the problems they may be causing and once it is brought to their notice, they are only too happy to co-operate in taking action to deal with the problem. We recommend all operators of construction sites in Milton Keynes to join the Considerate Contractors Scheme and adhere to their Code of Considerate Practice.
Statutory nuisance
Someone undertaking a DIY project might do so of a weekend, which would be deemed ‘reasonable’ taking into consideration the duration of the works and time of day its being undertaken, so the council probably would not look to enforce the Control of Pollution Act timings in those instances.
Statutory nuisance does not have rigid timings associated with it, that is to say there are no legally set times when noise can or cannot be created. If, however, someone is hammering in nails at midnight, that would be unreasonable to most people on any day, so likely to be a nuisance and actionable under the Environmental Protection Act 1990. To be fair and reasonable the council has to weigh up the frequency, intensity and duration of the noise to determine the impact and the likelihood of it being a statutory nuisance.
Reporting construction noise