Watford Borough Council

Building or demolition works can cause problems for neighbours of the site.  You can reduce or avoid causing any nuisance to the neighbours, or action being taken by the Council if you follow this advice:

Tell the Council and the neighbours

• Give the local authority Building Control section 6 weeks notice of demolition work.  The Council may impose some conditions about how the work should be done
• Notify the Development Control section of the Council if the building is located in a conservation area or is a listed building
• Send a letter to the neighbours before work starts, telling them about the work and what to expect
• Give the neighbours a contact name and telephone number and keep them informed
• Deal promptly with any complaints received on site.

Keep dust, noise and smoke to a minimum

• Dust – keep dust down by spraying with water when & where you can
• Noise – there should be no noise heard from the site outside these hours:
  8am - 5pm  Monday to Friday
  8am - 1pm  Saturday

Particularly noisy operations (e.g. pile driving) may need more stringent controls.  Pumps and generators should not be left running overnight if they can be heard outside the site.

If noise problems occur, the Council and the neighbours can take legal action.  If you think your work may cause a significant nuisance to the neighbours from noise or vibration, apply for ‘prior consent’ from the Council’s Environmental Services, who will allow a certain level of noise to occur.

Smoke

• Bonfires that release ‘dark smoke’ are illegal and the Council will prosecute offenders
• Advice about bonfires is available from the Council’s Environmental Services and the Fire Service
• Put out the bonfire at the end of each working day.

Obstruction and damage to pavements

• Do not let vehicles or materials block or damage the pavements
• Do not leave obstacles, holes or tenches where they are a danger, especially to disabled people (e.g. the blind)
• The Council may charge you for any damage caused to pavements, kerbs or verges by lorries or heavy plant.