Noise from Construction and Demolition sites and diy

Whilst there is no law in place to determine when construction work can be carried out, contractors should be aware that we have powers under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 to control noise and nuisance from building sites if informal action and advice doesn’t work.

The generally accepted working hours construction sites are 7.00am to 7.00pm pm Monday to Friday, 8.00am to 1.00pm Saturday and where possible, no working on a Sunday or Bank Holiday. There can sometimes be exceptions to these hours when special circumstances demand that work is done at other times. For example, work on railway tracks or stations can only be done when there are no trains; if heavy plant needs to be brought on site the Police sometimes insist on it being done on a Sunday to reduce interference with traffic. In such cases, we encourage contractors to notify local residents in advance.

There are exemptions from nuisance legislation for certain activities such as road building and railway maintenance which mean that enforcement action is limited.

Advice for builders and the construction industry - information leaflets

Construction Noise - Considerate Contractors ,
Construction leaflet (Polish version) ,

DIY noise in domestic properties

Most people have jobs, which need doing around the home, especially if they have just moved in, or are redecorating. We have to accept that many people have jobs during the day and need to do DIY work in the evenings and at weekends.

This does not however give them permission to annoy neighbours at all hours of the day and night or for the work to simply go on and on. We all have to be reasonable to live together.

In extreme cases DIY noise at any time of the day can constitute a statutory nuisance which the local council can deal with using powers under the Environmental Protection Act. 

Further information and guidance is available in our DIY nuisance leaflet.  

Making a complaint