Red Kite Posted April 27, 2020 Share Posted April 27, 2020 Hi, our MBC crew were planning to work over the weekend but sadly one of our delightful neighbours complained about the noise mid afternoon Saturday so to keep the peace and to keep MBC from being abused, I asked them to stop and they cleared up, made safe and went to another job (which they were planning to do Sunday night anyway). Noise is pretty light - sporadic nail guns and battery saws and a pretty quiet radio! - so no heavy noisy machines. Our PP has no hours restrictions in it as the Appeal Officer removed the Planning Officers condition because we said in our Appeal that a full construction plan inappropriate - so from a PP standpoint we are OK to work. However our Council has a RECOMMENDATION that no work should happen on Saturday afternoon and Sunday. I am checking with my BCO on this as my argument is that due to Covid 19 travel should be restricted and keeping working helps the crew to do this. Waiting to hear back (the BCO was supportive but its not his call) but it might just get bogged down in red tape and buck passing! I also can across this article https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/04/26/construction-sites-open-night-weekends-kickstart-recovery/ See below. Has anyone else seen this - and any more detail other than "under a change in the law being planned by ministers". Having something more concrete would help and with that I would be delighted to tell the single neighbour who has complained to go stuff it - in fact I think I might just do that anyway! Construction sites to open at night and weekends to kickstart recovery The temporary concessions for builders come as officials assess how further extensions of lockdown would affect the economy By Edward Malnick, Sunday Political Editor 26 April 2020 • 6:00am Premium Construction sites will be allowed to temporarily extend their hours to operate during evenings and at weekends, under a change in the law being planned by ministers. The Government is preparing to override restrictions preventing builders from carrying out loud work outside the typical working day, or on Sundays. The move is intended to allow construction firms to "catch up" on work as they begin returning to sites following an initial hiatus during the first weeks of the national lockdown. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nod Posted April 27, 2020 Share Posted April 27, 2020 12 minutes ago, Red Kite said: Hi, our MBC crew were planning to work over the weekend but sadly one of our delightful neighbours complained about the noise mid afternoon Saturday so to keep the peace and to keep MBC from being abused, I asked them to stop and they cleared up, made safe and went to another job (which they were planning to do Sunday night anyway). Noise is pretty light - sporadic nail guns and battery saws and a pretty quiet radio! - so no heavy noisy machines. Our PP has no hours restrictions in it as the Appeal Officer removed the Planning Officers condition because we said in our Appeal that a full construction plan inappropriate - so from a PP standpoint we are OK to work. However our Council has a RECOMMENDATION that no work should happen on Saturday afternoon and Sunday. I am checking with my BCO on this as my argument is that due to Covid 19 travel should be restricted and keeping working helps the crew to do this. Waiting to hear back (the BCO was supportive but its not his call) but it might just get bogged down in red tape and buck passing! I also can across this article https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/04/26/construction-sites-open-night-weekends-kickstart-recovery/ See below. Has anyone else seen this - and any more detail other than "under a change in the law being planned by ministers". Having something more concrete would help and with that I would be delighted to tell the single neighbour who has complained to go stuff it - in fact I think I might just do that anyway! Construction sites to open at night and weekends to kickstart recovery The temporary concessions for builders come as officials assess how further extensions of lockdown would affect the economy By Edward Malnick, Sunday Political Editor 26 April 2020 • 6:00am Premium Construction sites will be allowed to temporarily extend their hours to operate during evenings and at weekends, under a change in the law being planned by ministers. The Government is preparing to override restrictions preventing builders from carrying out loud work outside the typical working day, or on Sundays. The move is intended to allow construction firms to "catch up" on work as they begin returning to sites following an initial hiatus during the first weeks of the national lockdown. we received this last week Some people are not happy unless they are complaining You may just have to push on regardless Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFDIY Posted April 27, 2020 Share Posted April 27, 2020 @nod How does the complainant know that the workers don't all live together? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteamyTea Posted April 27, 2020 Share Posted April 27, 2020 6 minutes ago, JFDIY said: How does the complainant know that the workers don't all live together? Along with their other friends 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nod Posted April 27, 2020 Share Posted April 27, 2020 1 minute ago, JFDIY said: @nod How does the complainant know that the workers don't all live together? Yes I’m 65 miles away a couple are local Most travel in Theres no local labour Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToughButterCup Posted April 27, 2020 Share Posted April 27, 2020 Just get on with it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vivienz Posted April 27, 2020 Share Posted April 27, 2020 Your neighbours are never going to be your besties, anyway, so build first and let them complain later. The speed that MBC work at, whatever complaint is made will be barely acknowledged by the time MBC have finished that stage and moved on. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Jimbo Posted April 27, 2020 Share Posted April 27, 2020 Tell your neighbour "If you have got a problem with the noise now, wait till i move the 8 dogs in" Tell them you will make it up to them with an invite to the first sex party. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joe90 Posted April 28, 2020 Share Posted April 28, 2020 I agree, get MBC back and crack on , if the council get involved point them at the change in law, if your neighbour complains also point them at this new legislation I know it’s not happened yet but by the time the council have to act it will have!!!! You can be too helpful to some people. My (PITA) neighbour complained about me working weekends with my JCB but I have a field next to the site and said I was doing agricultural work on my field clearing ditches which is not building work ?????. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carrerahill Posted April 28, 2020 Share Posted April 28, 2020 (edited) 15 hours ago, Red Kite said: Hi, our MBC crew were planning to work over the weekend but sadly one of our delightful neighbours complained about the noise mid afternoon Saturday so to keep the peace and to keep MBC from being abused, I asked them to stop and they cleared up, made safe and went to another job (which they were planning to do Sunday night anyway). Noise is pretty light - sporadic nail guns and battery saws and a pretty quiet radio! - so no heavy noisy machines. Our PP has no hours restrictions in it as the Appeal Officer removed the Planning Officers condition because we said in our Appeal that a full construction plan inappropriate - so from a PP standpoint we are OK to work. However our Council has a RECOMMENDATION that no work should happen on Saturday afternoon and Sunday. I am checking with my BCO on this as my argument is that due to Covid 19 travel should be restricted and keeping working helps the crew to do this. Waiting to hear back (the BCO was supportive but its not his call) but it might just get bogged down in red tape and buck passing! I also can across this article https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/04/26/construction-sites-open-night-weekends-kickstart-recovery/ See below. Has anyone else seen this - and any more detail other than "under a change in the law being planned by ministers". Having something more concrete would help and with that I would be delighted to tell the single neighbour who has complained to go stuff it - in fact I think I might just do that anyway! Construction sites to open at night and weekends to kickstart recovery The temporary concessions for builders come as officials assess how further extensions of lockdown would affect the economy By Edward Malnick, Sunday Political Editor 26 April 2020 • 6:00am Premium Construction sites will be allowed to temporarily extend their hours to operate during evenings and at weekends, under a change in the law being planned by ministers. The Government is preparing to override restrictions preventing builders from carrying out loud work outside the typical working day, or on Sundays. The move is intended to allow construction firms to "catch up" on work as they begin returning to sites following an initial hiatus during the first weeks of the national lockdown. Crack on! The issue here is you have applied a domestic approach to this, if this was a developer they would have told them to walk and I guarantee you no one would stop working. By slowing down your progress they are only making things take longer. If you make lots of noise for 2 whole days people get over it and are pleased as it then all ends, if you however make noise for 4 half days then people start to think its going on too long and that impacts people more. Edited April 28, 2020 by Carrerahill Spelling 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeremy Harris Posted April 28, 2020 Share Posted April 28, 2020 I agree. We had a few noise complaints from MBC working every hour there was enough light (plus some), but at the end of the day they were only on site for a couple of weeks or so in total, so it was far less nuisance than the ~50 muck away truck loads that came off the site during the 6 weeks or so of ground works. My neighbour over the road has been removing his trout farm ponds and filling and levelling the site for well over 6 months now, and we've had to put up with diggers working all day, plus hundreds of lorry loads of topsoil being delivered. As I type this I can clearly hear the blasted reversing beeper of yet another damned truck (for some reason the reversing bleeper seems to be far and away the most irritating noise). I've not complained, mainly as I know we disturbed his peace for a few months when we built this house. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bitpipe Posted April 28, 2020 Share Posted April 28, 2020 (edited) We got through the whole demolition and basement construction phase with no noise complaints, also had 73 20t truck loads of spoil over 3 days and heavy plant on site and a concrete pump running into the evening waiting for the last load for the slab. However I remember the day MBC started, was a Friday in November. There'd been a minor cockup on steel lengths so the pockets we'd cast into the basement walls were 20-30mm too small so the team had to get hold of a kango at short notice and widen the pockets. At 6pm, one of the lads was knocking the remaining (and single) vertical steel into place (again, slab was slightly proud so needed some 'persuasion' and it was ringing like a gong - cue some local pull up and threaten all sorts if he didn't stop. As we had quite a sizeable crew on site that day I think he realised he'd bit off more than he could chew and left pretty sharphish. Edited April 28, 2020 by Bitpipe 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Kite Posted May 13, 2020 Author Share Posted May 13, 2020 All, we followed the general advice to Crack On and Get It Done - and MBC worked all weekend - Bank Holiday and all - long hours and really not a lot of noise. They kept the radio off and observed the 11:00 silence - only to be upstaged by one of the neighbours who turned on his pressure washer at exactly 11:00!!!! They did a great job and finished up on site late Sunday and cleared off for the next job on Monday! Today we had an email from Environmental Health saying they had some noise complaints and could we talk to them about it which we will do. However the very same day Housing Minister Robert Jenrick announced "Extended working hours will be permitted on residential construction sites as part of government efforts to help kickstart the housing market. From today, builders can agree more flexible site working hours with local councils." https://www.constructionnews.co.uk/buildings/working-hours-extended-on-residential-sites-13-05-2020/ Guess this settles it then! Shame we will not likely have contractors working weekends again. And we presume that as Self Builder any work we do (as opposed to paid contractors) counts as DIY and is not controlled at all!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Kite Posted May 13, 2020 Author Share Posted May 13, 2020 And BTW my very helpful BCO basically agreed with you lot - but wasn't going to put that in writing ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamieled Posted May 13, 2020 Share Posted May 13, 2020 24 minutes ago, Red Kite said: And we presume that as Self Builder any work we do (as opposed to paid contractors) counts as DIY and is not controlled at all!!!! You're still working on a building site and subject to any noise/working hour restrictions. Whether you are a paid contractor is irrelevant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vijay Posted May 13, 2020 Share Posted May 13, 2020 From what they said on the news, the extended working hours will still be set by local councils. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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