[Report 1964] / Medical Officer of Health, Cheltenham Borough.

  • Cheltenham (England). Borough Council.
Date:
1964
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1964] / Medical Officer of Health, Cheltenham Borough. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    84/92 (page 80)
    NOISE ABATEMENT ACT, 1960 This year has been fairly active in the field of noise complaints, but in each case no definite evidence of a statutory nuisance could be obtained in spite of considerable time being spent on observations in the evening and at weekends. One case became headline news in the local Press when successful appeals were made to the Rating Valuation Court for a reduction in assess- ments on properties in close proximity to an aluminium extrusion factory. The owners of four nearby houses, described by their Advocate as four “souls in torment”, asserted that a 1,500 ton electro-hydraulic press caused a dreadful noise. In view of the exaggerated terms used by the residents and the publicity given to the complaints, the Public Health View Committee visited the factory when it was in full production and watched the process of extraction. In rooms adjacent to the factory they could hardly believe that they were in a building, the noise from which had been the subject of such dramatic descriptions as “shock waves going through the ground, as a result of which all the houses tremble reminiscent of bombs exploding during the war.” The complaints were investigated on a number of occasions and tests were made with a Sound Level Indicator, the readings taken at the houses of the residents varying between 53 and 58 decibels. Traffic noise at the front of the houses indicated 80 decibels. Upon recommendations designed to effect a reduction in the volume of noise emitted from the factory, baffle walls were constructed adjacent to the suction fans and windows near the air compressor were baffled. Another case causing complaints concerned the noisy behaviour of persons using the swimming pool of a social club that had been established adjoining a good residential area. This is a seasonal occurrence, but several hours were spent taking observations without obtaining evidence of a nuisance. However, several local residents received reductions in the rateable value of their premises.