Statutory Nuisance
Discussion
Any experts on here?
This relates to Network Rail who have an exemption - but it's not a total exemption I am told.
Background relates to planned noisy overnight works on a level crossing - 4 consecutive nights. For days the line is being put back to operational status.
To save people shouting on me. I have no problem with occasional disruption - it is to be expected. 4 nights on the trot in a residential area does however seem unreasonable, when it could be spread over a longer period bearing in mind they are going to put railway back in use each day. Their staff can sleep in the day, but my employers would object, and actually by day 5 with 4 nights of disrupted sleep, I will be a walking zombie.
This relates to Network Rail who have an exemption - but it's not a total exemption I am told.
Background relates to planned noisy overnight works on a level crossing - 4 consecutive nights. For days the line is being put back to operational status.
To save people shouting on me. I have no problem with occasional disruption - it is to be expected. 4 nights on the trot in a residential area does however seem unreasonable, when it could be spread over a longer period bearing in mind they are going to put railway back in use each day. Their staff can sleep in the day, but my employers would object, and actually by day 5 with 4 nights of disrupted sleep, I will be a walking zombie.
surveyor said:
Any experts on here?
This relates to Network Rail who have an exemption - but it's not a total exemption I am told.
Background relates to planned noisy overnight works on a level crossing - 4 consecutive nights. For days the line is being put back to operational status.
To save people shouting on me. I have no problem with occasional disruption - it is to be expected. 4 nights on the trot in a residential area does however seem unreasonable, when it could be spread over a longer period bearing in mind they are going to put railway back in use each day. Their staff can sleep in the day, but my employers would object, and actually by day 5 with 4 nights of disrupted sleep, I will be a walking zombie.
You're assuming the statutory nuisance from the work being carried out will be noise, but according to this site: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/statutory-nuisances-ho...This relates to Network Rail who have an exemption - but it's not a total exemption I am told.
Background relates to planned noisy overnight works on a level crossing - 4 consecutive nights. For days the line is being put back to operational status.
To save people shouting on me. I have no problem with occasional disruption - it is to be expected. 4 nights on the trot in a residential area does however seem unreasonable, when it could be spread over a longer period bearing in mind they are going to put railway back in use each day. Their staff can sleep in the day, but my employers would object, and actually by day 5 with 4 nights of disrupted sleep, I will be a walking zombie.
What can be a statutory nuisance
Issues that may be a statutory nuisance include:
noise from premises or from vehicles, equipment or machinery in the street
smoke from premises
smells from industry, trade or business premises (for example, sewage treatment works, factories or restaurants)
artificial light from premises
[i]insect infestations from industrial, trade or business premises[//i]
accumulation or deposits on premises (for example, piles of rotting rubbish)
For the issue to count as a statutory nuisance it must do one of the following:
unreasonably and substantially interfere with the use or enjoyment of a home or other premises
injure health or be likely to injure health
Reading through that, and based on the work being carried out at night, the statutory nuisance exemption could be based on noise, but it could also be based on the need for bright work lights to be used (or it could be based on both)
As for why the work is being carried out over 4 straight nights; That will be because it simplifies things for the crew carrying out the work.
They don't want to have to keep coming back over several weeks, for single days of work, to complete the work, trying to remember what they'd done already - they prefer to get everything done in one short block of days
(If they could, I'm sure they'd much rather close the line for a whole day or two, and get the work carried out in much less time, but the needs of the railway users means that that option is simply not possible)
Thanks, both. I think.
Things have moved forward slightly today. I'm not sure if it is as a result of my efforts, or coincidence but the road closure has been changed to 3 days instead of 4 and the concrete pecking has vanished. That was my biggest concern as it uses a pneumatic drill.
Based on that I will settle back a little.
Things have moved forward slightly today. I'm not sure if it is as a result of my efforts, or coincidence but the road closure has been changed to 3 days instead of 4 and the concrete pecking has vanished. That was my biggest concern as it uses a pneumatic drill.
Based on that I will settle back a little.
The line may not be in current use, so you assume it could be done on days. However it's almost certainly about the availability of the work force, equipment and less traffic at weekend on nights. It will be mostly contractors, with very few NR staff on site, particularly were it is currently a non operational line. Resources are spread quite thin during the week particularly were trains and crews are involved, although this job doesn't sound like it requires trains just yet. What line is this? Do yo know what rail traffic will be running when it's reinstated?
surveyor said:
Any experts on here?
This relates to Network Rail who have an exemption - but it's not a total exemption I am told.
Background relates to planned noisy overnight works on a level crossing - 4 consecutive nights. For days the line is being put back to operational status.
To save people shouting on me. I have no problem with occasional disruption - it is to be expected. 4 nights on the trot in a residential area does however seem unreasonable, when it could be spread over a longer period bearing in mind they are going to put railway back in use each day. Their staff can sleep in the day, but my employers would object, and actually by day 5 with 4 nights of disrupted sleep, I will be a walking zombie.
Cheap b+b it is then ? To be fair, you bought the house knowing it had a line running through the garden presumably? As a one off if you won't sleep from night 2 onward I'd be elsewhere if it was me. This relates to Network Rail who have an exemption - but it's not a total exemption I am told.
Background relates to planned noisy overnight works on a level crossing - 4 consecutive nights. For days the line is being put back to operational status.
To save people shouting on me. I have no problem with occasional disruption - it is to be expected. 4 nights on the trot in a residential area does however seem unreasonable, when it could be spread over a longer period bearing in mind they are going to put railway back in use each day. Their staff can sleep in the day, but my employers would object, and actually by day 5 with 4 nights of disrupted sleep, I will be a walking zombie.
W124Bob said:
The line may not be in current use, so you assume it could be done on days. However it's almost certainly about the availability of the work force, equipment and less traffic at weekend on nights. It will be mostly contractors, with very few NR staff on site, particularly were it is currently a non operational line. Resources are spread quite thin during the week particularly were trains and crews are involved, although this job doesn't sound like it requires trains just yet. What line is this? Do yo know what rail traffic will be running when it's reinstated?
It’s in daily use. I have no problem with the requirement to do it at night. Just the 4 (now 3) in a row.I don't know anything about the law relating to this, but I have lived next to a level crossing for nearly 10 years (in a former crossing keepers house) so I have some practical experience of this.
Nearly all planned works take place at night, the line I live on doesn't normally run at night (unless the main line it shadows for is itself closed). They sometimes work on the level crossing itself, lifting the roadway slabs to clean crap out that interferes with the passing sensors, but usually use the crossing to access parts of the line elsewhere (often using vehicles fitted with rail wheels). It is worth clarifying exactly what they are doing, some jobs are noisy and quite hard to sleep through, some aren't. Often they are all done by midnight.
You'll no doubt get the usual pile on of PH regulars for raising this as an issue having bought a house next to a railway line but I think that as long as they inform you in advance that planned works are going to be carried out then that is fine and acceptable. I think we have once decided to go and stay away whilst works were in progress (renewing the crossing gates) because we knew that that was a noisy disruptive procedure (they have to park a hiab over the crossing to do this).
Nearly all planned works take place at night, the line I live on doesn't normally run at night (unless the main line it shadows for is itself closed). They sometimes work on the level crossing itself, lifting the roadway slabs to clean crap out that interferes with the passing sensors, but usually use the crossing to access parts of the line elsewhere (often using vehicles fitted with rail wheels). It is worth clarifying exactly what they are doing, some jobs are noisy and quite hard to sleep through, some aren't. Often they are all done by midnight.
You'll no doubt get the usual pile on of PH regulars for raising this as an issue having bought a house next to a railway line but I think that as long as they inform you in advance that planned works are going to be carried out then that is fine and acceptable. I think we have once decided to go and stay away whilst works were in progress (renewing the crossing gates) because we knew that that was a noisy disruptive procedure (they have to park a hiab over the crossing to do this).
I had loads of night work done outside my last place. Not railway, but night time resurfacing work to the main road, including a machine that munched up the old tarmac making it into filings. Openreach decided to install a fibre junction box outside my bedroom window late at night - 3 nights of serious noise.....
Infrastructure has to be maintained/upgraded, so as long as its only a few nights/year, I think you just need to put up with it or go to a hotel for a while....
Infrastructure has to be maintained/upgraded, so as long as its only a few nights/year, I think you just need to put up with it or go to a hotel for a while....
Biker 1 said:
I had loads of night work done outside my last place. Not railway, but night time resurfacing work to the main road, including a machine that munched up the old tarmac making it into filings. Openreach decided to install a fibre junction box outside my bedroom window late at night - 3 nights of serious noise.....
Infrastructure has to be maintained/upgraded, so as long as its only a few nights/year, I think you just need to put up with it or go to a hotel for a while....
It's fine as long as there is notice of planned works (obviously not emergency stuff) being carried out, so you can decide whether to be in or not. I've befriended my local railway engineers, so they generally tell me what they're doing and how long it'll take plus how noisy it's likely to be. A lot of night works are all done long before midnight (the last train passes at 9.30pm), so I can stay up if they're being noisy.Infrastructure has to be maintained/upgraded, so as long as its only a few nights/year, I think you just need to put up with it or go to a hotel for a while....
They are also courteous enough to switch off the crossing warning buzzer when testing the automatic barriers so it isn't going off every thirty seconds.
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