Noise During a Garden Gym or Garage Conversion Build: What Sections 60 and 61 of the Control of Pollution Act 1974 Let Councils Do in England, Wales and Scotland

Building a garden room or converting a garage brings machinery, cutting and hammering to a residential street. Most guidance on home gym noise concerns the noise of training afterwards, which this site covers in its guide to noise from a home gym in Scotland. Noise from the build itself is governed separately. This article summarises sections 60 and 61 of the Control of Pollution Act 1974, as published on legislation.gov.uk, and the GOV.UK guidance for England. Both sections are marked as applying in England, Wales and Scotland. It is general information, not legal advice.

Which works are covered

Section 60 applies to works that include the erection, construction, alteration, repair or maintenance of buildings, structures or roads, breaking up, opening or boring under a road or adjacent land, demolition or dredging, and any work of engineering construction. A garden gym build, a garage conversion or the groundworks and foundations for either would come within the description of building work in the section, although whether a council acts in a particular case is a matter for the council.

Notices councils can serve: section 60

Under section 60, where it appears to a local authority that such works are being, or are going to be, carried out on any premises, it may serve a notice imposing requirements as to the way the works are carried out. The notice may:

• specify the plant or machinery that is, or is not, to be used;
• specify the hours during which the works may be carried out;
• specify the level of noise that may be emitted from the premises, or at a specified point, or during specified hours; and
• provide for any change of circumstances.

In acting, the authority must have regard to any relevant code of practice, to the need to ensure that the best practicable means are used to minimise noise, and to the need to protect people in the locality from the effects of noise. It must also consider whether methods or plant that are substantially as effective at minimising noise, and more acceptable to the recipients, could be specified instead. The notice is served on the person who appears to be carrying out the works, and on others who appear responsible for or in control of them, as the authority thinks fit.

A person served with a notice may appeal to a magistrates’ court within 21 days of service. Contravening a requirement of the notice without reasonable excuse is an offence under the Act. GOV.UK’s guidance for England says those failing to comply can be prosecuted and fined an unlimited amount, with further fines for each day of non-compliance.

Applying for consent in advance: section 61

Section 61 allows a person who intends to carry out works of this kind to apply to the local authority for prior consent. The application must give particulars of the works and how they will be carried out, and the steps proposed to minimise noise. Where building regulations approval, or in Scotland a building warrant, is required, the section 61 application must be made at the same time as or later than that request or application.

• Decision. If the authority considers the application contains enough information and that it would not need to serve a section 60 notice if the works follow the application, it must give consent.
• Conditions. The authority may attach conditions, qualify the consent for changes in circumstances and limit its duration. Knowingly working in contravention of a condition is an offence.
• Timing. The authority must tell the applicant its decision within 28 days of receiving the application. If it does not consent in that time, or consents with conditions or qualifications, the applicant may appeal to a magistrates’ court within 21 days of the end of that period.
• Passing it on. Where the works are carried out by someone other than the applicant, the applicant must take all reasonable steps to bring the consent to that person’s notice.
• Limits. A consent must state that it is not of itself a defence to statutory nuisance proceedings.

What GOV.UK says for England

The GOV.UK guidance on noise nuisances, which applies to England, explains the same two routes in plain terms: councils can serve a notice on people carrying out construction or demolition works setting how work should be done to avoid a potential statutory noise nuisance, including a noise level, the plant or machinery that can be used, the hours when work can be done and steps to minimise noise. People can also apply for consent, and the council must give consent if satisfied the application has enough information and it would not need to serve a notice. The guidance was last updated in December 2017.

What this means for a homeowner planning a build

• Building noise can be controlled by the council through a notice served on those carrying out or responsible for the works.
• A prior consent application is an option, and where building regulations approval or a building warrant is needed it must be lodged alongside or after that application.
• Working hours and machinery choices are among the matters a notice may specify.

Frequently asked questions

Can a council set the hours a builder may work?

Yes. Section 60(3)(b) lets a notice specify the hours during which works may be carried out.

Is prior consent compulsory?

No. Section 61 says a person who intends to carry out the works may apply, so it is an option rather than a requirement.

The bottom line

Sections 60 and 61 give councils in England, Wales and Scotland tools to control noise from construction sites, including setting hours, machinery and noise levels by notice, and considering prior applications with a 28-day decision period and rights of appeal. For a garden gym or garage conversion, the practical points are that a notice can specify hours and machinery and that a prior consent application is available.

Sources

• legislation.gov.uk, “Control of Pollution Act 1974, section 60: Control of noise on construction sites”
• legislation.gov.uk, “Control of Pollution Act 1974, section 61: Prior consent for work on construction sites”
• GOV.UK, “Noise nuisances: how councils deal with complaints”