Restricted hours for noisy building works
The Control of Pollution Act 1974 gives the Royal Borough of Greenwich's environmental health department special powers to control noise on construction and demolition sites. Working hours can be restricted and conditions enforced on the machinery being used.
Avoiding problems caused by building work
Give neighbours advance warning of any work being carried out and let them know how long it will last.
Legal responsibilities
Professional building firms must follow the relevant codes of practice.
Restricted hours
General construction work should be restricted to the following hours:
- Monday to Friday 8am to 6pm
- Saturdays 8am to 1pm
- Noisy work is prohibited on Sundays and bank holidays
Noisy activities
Examples of noisy activities include:
- Using hand tools - hammers and saws
- Using power tools - hand-held tools including drills, saws and sanders
- Using plant equipment - such as Kango hammers, pneumatic hammers, cement mixers, large power saws, planers, compressors and generators
- Pile driving
- Erecting and dismantling of scaffolding
- Partition walls - can produce high levels of noise for neighbours
Railway Maintenance Noise
The Council does not have any enforcement powers available to prevent essential works which occasionally need to be completed during the night. We do however encourage companies such as Network Rail to engage with the communities that will be effected and to keep disturbance to a minimum. Find out more about railway maintanance noise.
Residents can contact Network Rail direct to raise any concerns about noise levels. Network Rail should then advise what is causing the noise and will provide an idea of how long it’s likely to last, as well as taking action to reduce it where possible. Network Rail can be contacted via a 24 hour national helpline on 03457 11 41 41, or by completing the form.
Find out more information about planned maintance work
You can view the number of previous contruction noise complaints from 2015 - 2019