Construction firm fined £6k over 'unbearable' noise

Soldi Investments Ltd was found guilty at Cheltenham Magistrates Court

A construction company has been ordered to pay more than £12,000 after causing "unbearable" noise during the building of a supermarket.

Noise was heard outside of hours specified in a Control of Pollution Act notice issued to Soldi Investments Ltd by Cheltenham Borough Council.

The company was found guilty at Cheltenham Magistrates Court on 16 September of failing to comply with a notice to control noise during the construction of the store.

It was fined £6,000, and ordered to pay compensation of £2,000, as well as £4,835 costs.

Complaints were made to the council in October 2022, saying construction was taking place on the site on Cirencester Road in Charlton Kings outside the hours agreed in the construction management plan.

The council served notice on the company saying work which could be heard at the boundary of the site could only be carried out between 07.30 and 18.00 on Monday to Friday and 08.00 to 13.00 on Saturdays.

But noise from generators and construction staff inside the store, along with vehicles moving about the site, continued late into the evening and the early hours of the morning, the court heard.

A total of 23 breaches were observed between January and March 2023.

'Loss of sleep'

A resident said, sometimes, the noise was "unbearable" and "unrelenting", waking them from their sleep.

Director of Soldi Investments Ltd, Alexander Hirom Petheram, did not deny the contraventions of the notice, and apologised for them, citing health and safety and bad weather for why construction continued outside of the approved working hours.

The council told the court that failure to comply with the notice was a result of poor planning and management by Soldi Investments Ltd and Mr Petheram.

Councillor Victoria Atherstone said it was "unacceptable" to ignore the council's notice.

“Our officers will use the full power of the law to protect neighbours from loss of sleep and disruption to their normal lives," she said.