Acceptable Construction Work Noise

The advice given below is a guide and each case would be judged on its specific circumstances.

We would recommend the following hours for work which could create noise.

•Monday – Friday  8am-6pm

•Saturday 8am-1pm.  

•Sundays and Bank Holidays Not at all.  

We would also strongly advise that noisy works, such as pile driving etc are started and finished well within these times, this would be decided on a case by case basis.

The contractor may well be on site 24 hours a day depending on the type of construction work being carried out. In most cases workers may start arriving before this time and we would  not expect this to cause a nuisance, though it may well be considered annoying.

Where contractors do contact us to discuss their plans we would advise they work with neighbours to ensure that they are kept informed. Particularly where there may be occasions where work may need to be carried outside normal working hours eg installation/checking of utility services. If contractors choose to work outside the hours or are particularly noisy during the day they may have a defence of “Best Practicable Means” eg using quieter machinery/plant than usual.

We would not consider that DIY would need to comply strictly with the above times and would judge its case on its own merits. If in doubt please refer to an EH Officer.

In all cases the EH Officer will have to decide what is reasonable and can only take action where the problem is causing a Statutory Nuisance.

Further Information

Considerate Contractors Scheme