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11.47 am
Mr. David Evennett (Erith and Crayford): I am delighted to speak in support of the Bill. I welcome its provisions. I hope that it will soon be on the statute book, because it is both necessary and long overdue. Like the hon. Member for Newham, North-West (Mr. Banks), I am proud to be one of the Bill's sponsors. However, there is much work still to be done in Committee to improve it.
I warmly congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Ealing, North (Mr. Greenway) on promoting the Bill.I have known my hon. Friend for many years; indeed,I have served on the Education Select Committee with him. I know that he has been a champion of his constituents and of constituency interests over the many years that he has been in the House. I also know that he has been aware of the growing problem of neighbourhood noise nuisance for a considerable time. I am pleased that, having won the ballot, he decided on this Bill as one that deserved to be on the statute book. His speech this morning covered most of the technical part of the Bill, but there is still a great deal more to discuss in Committee.
The second person I warmly congratulate is a constituent of mine, Val Gibson, who lives in Thamesmead. In 1991, she established the Right to Peace and Quiet Campaign. Having been a victim of noisy neighbours and having had to move home to survive, she has been a tireless campaigner for a change in the law and firmer action to deal with the noise pollution in general and noisy neighbours in particular.
Over the years, and with increasing success, the campaign, of which I have been a member and a proud supporter, has raised issues, given facts and publicised problems. My hon. Friend the Member for Basingstoke (Mr. Hunter) in a previous Bill and my right hon. Friend the Member for South Ribble (Mr. Atkins), while an Environment Minister, made valuable contributions to advancing action on noise nuisance.
The excellent campaign run by The Mail on Sunday also played a major part in the debate on noise nuisance and raised the visibility of the problem among politicians and local authorities. The campaign helped to stimulate the Government to come forward with the Department of the Environment neighbour noise working party, which went through all aspects of the problems and made some proposals.
Val Gibson and the Right to Peace and Quiet Campaign collected information, advised sufferers, lobbied hon. Members and Ministers, enlisted media and show business support and help, and organised many publicity events to increase awareness of the problem. Indeed,I remember playing a silent trumpet with Spike Milligan in Covent Garden to highlight the problems of noise nuisance. The issues have also been debated through many other campaigns and celebrity occasions. As a result, cases of considerable hardship and suffering across the country, especially among people who live in inner-city tower blocks where there is greater proximity to one's neighbours, have been highlighted.
Mr. John Carlisle:
I add my tribute to Valerie Gibson. My hon. Friend has not mentioned that she was made ill to such an extent that she had to give up work. Quotations in the newspapers said that the noise drove her mad to such an extent that she wanted to go out on the street at 4 o'clock in the morning to hit somebody. Her work in my constituency has been much appreciated, especially by those in the tower blocks. I am happy to add my name to my hon. Friend's rightful congratulations.
Mr. Evennett:
I thank my hon. Friend for that addition to my praise. The Bill is a tribute to Val Gibson, her campaign and many other people who have been agitating for action in the recent past.
The Government too must be congratulated on taking the issue on board, not only because they set up the working party, but because they were willing to listen, discuss and debate the problem and suggest their own ideas. I welcome my hon. Friend the Minister, who I know is taking notes and listening to all the points that are being raised.
The most interesting part of the working party report was its highlighting of the scale of the problem. There were 111,515 registered complaints of neighbour noise nuisance in England and Wales in 1992-93--a rise of30 per cent. on the previous year. It should be stressed, however, that many more thousands of complaints are never made by people who continue to suffer in silence. Either they do not know how to complain, or they are frightened to complain, or they have simply got used to the noise nuisance and live with it.
In my constituency, I have been inundated with complaints by people who have suffered over the past few years. There are a number of tower blocks in the North End, Erith and Thamesmead wards, where the sound
travels up the lift shaft from one floor to another and causes considerable suffering. There have been two examples of people suffering in a smaller block of flats too. My constituent, Mrs. Daisy Clement, who lives in Bostall ward, has suffered from people playing drums, loud electronic music and group practices for some rock band at all sorts of the day and night, which has caused her and her husband, who are both pensioners, considerable distress.
Another constituent, Mrs. Viki Harrold, was forced to leave her flat in Belvedere because the noise nuisance from do-it-yourself experts downstairs--not music--became too great. One must remember that not only noisy parties and the young cause noise nuisance and affect neighbours. The young play loud music and that is their interest. There are, however, many other perpetrators of noise nuisance, such as DIY enthusiasts who build cupboards and wardrobes late into the night and early in the morning. When they have finished one DIY improvement, they move to another room. They keep on trying to improve their property, yet do not realise the noise that it creates for people living in neighbouring properties, especially flats.
People seem to have their televisions and radios on louder and louder today, which is another problem.Car engines are revved while people tune their cars early on a Sunday morning. There is also general noise such as doors slamming and arguments in households. There has been a tremendous increase in noise in all aspects of life and a particular lack of consideration and understanding of the noise that is being generated.
Mr. Couchman:
My hon. Friend will know that, for a time, I ran a discotheque pub in south London--in fact, in his constituency-to-be. Four years of listening to the noise there undoubtedly deafened me. Does he think--I am being quite serious--that people's use of loud music is leading to a deterioration of hearing, which causes them to turn up the television and music ever louder?
Mr. Evennett:
As usual, my hon. Friend makes a very good point. I should like to put it on record that he ran his establishment superbly and he is fondly remembered as its landlord. It is of concern that the hearing of more young people is being damaged at rock concerts, where the music is getting louder and louder. Although we have tried to protect factory employees from noise, people's hearing is damaged elsewhere, rock concerts being one example.
Mr. Carlisle:
I recommend to my hon. Friend muzzled earphones used in the shooting field, which can be turned up and turned down. One can hear what is going on 300 or 400 yd away and what the beaters are saying, but not the shot nearby. Perhaps the Bill should include availability of such earphones for those who suffer.
Mr. Evennett:
I am always interested in my hon. Friend's comments, but I am also always mindful of expenditure.
Lack of sleep, nervous distress, illness and severe depression have all been experienced by people who have been subjected to inconsiderate and noisy neighbours. The worst offences are committed during the night. While I accept what my hon. Friend the Member for Gillingham
(Mr. Couchman) said about other noises during the day which people who work at night and have to sleep during the day must endure, the vast majority of us--even Members of Parliament, especially since the improved sitting hours--get to sleep at some point during the night when one needs it.
Although the hon. Member for Tooting (Mr. Cox) suggested that the Bill's provisions should operate between 10 pm and 7 am--I am sure that we will discuss it in Committee--the hours between 11 pm and 7 am are the core time during which people should have the right to peace and quiet in their own home and not be interrupted by noise from neighbours that prevents them from relaxing and enjoying a good night's sleep.
I mentioned Val Gibson. Some people move from their flat to another property to escape noisy neighbours, but the vast majority of people cannot do that, because they do not have the finance or whatever. We must therefore accept that it is our responsibility as legislators to put on the statute book a measure that will give those people some respite.
Mr. John Marshall:
Does my hon. Friend agree that one of the worst spots for noise problems are high-rise blocks of flats? The tenants of those blocks of flats have no escape, because the only way in which they can escape is by mutual transfer. It is not a very good advertisement to say in a request for mutual transfer, "Come and live in this block of high-rise flats; music 24 hours a day." That does not attract many people.
Mr. Evennett:
Of course it does not. We must be aware of the difficulties faced by people in that situation. However, why should people be forced to move because of noise? They obtain their property, they furnish it as they like, their children go to school in the area and their friends and family are nearby. They should not be forced to move, even if they can, to other areas. The problem should be dealt with at source, and not by default with people having to move away.
We have heard this morning that the present position is totally unsatisfactory. The present procedures are too lengthy and too vague, and they require the sufferers to take considerable action themselves, with records and bureaucracy. Perhaps the local authority will take action, but perhaps it will not. We all agree that the present system is totally inadequate to deal with a growing problem.
The Bill will go a long way towards helping to address the problems. It will create a new offence of night-time noise nuisance, and it is based on the principle that individuals should be able to get a good night's sleep without interference from noise from another domestic dwelling. For the first time, the sound will be measured. Clause 3 will be warmly welcomed, because it defines the hours of night. I take on board the point made by my hon. Friend the Member for Gillingham (Mr. Couchman), that the equipment required may be expensive, and that it may be difficult to get the readings needed. However, we have at least made a start and we can discuss the technical aspects in Committee. For the first time, we are looking for a measurement and for action that does not require the person who is suffering to keep a diary of their suffering.
The Bill is not meant to be a killjoy measure and it is not meant to prevent the occasional party. We have all gone to occasional parties; the best thing is often to invite
the neighbours, so that everyone is there together. We do not want to stop people having fun or holding the occasional social function at home. What we do want is to make people more aware of the effect of their actions on others, whether they are holding a family celebration, a wedding anniversary party or a birthday party, or whether they are improving their property by gutting it and installing new facilities. The important point is to make people realise the consequences of the noise they are making for other people.
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