Noise pollution a "broad and far-reaching issue"

Sunday 29 November 2020

Conversations have begun between E&I and Home Affairs to explore options for tackling noise pollution on the island.

The committees hope to discuss how legislation and education might be updated and improved to deal with some islanders' concerns about noisy vehicles and anti-social behaviour.

Deputy De Sausmarez said the problem was not a "simple" one, and while consultations and assessments would be required before any action was taken, she did have some ideas on where to begin.

"At the moment, the police struggle to enforce the legislation that they have," she said. "What we need to explore is the degree to which that problem rests on the wording of the legislation, and to what degree that might rest on the way in which we seek to enforce it.

"For example, the fact that we use the criminal justice system requires a very high bar when it comes to evidence, and that might be one of the things that makes the legislation difficult to enforce."

Pictured: Deputy John Gollop posed a series of questions to E&I about how they intend to tackle noise pollution on the island.

Other Deputies made suggestions about what could be changed. Economic Development President Neil Inder suggested that something could be done about customised exhausts on the island.

"People can buy for £70 or £80 off Amazon, effectively, a coke can, and convert their exhaust to that sound that annoys most people," he said.

"[Motorbikes] are not loud off the peg. They are very loud when you put an £80 tin can on them."

Deputy De Sausmarez said that while this was an issue, the way in which the motorbikes are driven also causes a concern, adding that in the UK, people can in fact be reprimanded by law for driving in a manner that deliberately creates too much noise.

She also said that there was no specific group of people who were responsible for people's issues with noise pollution, in response to the suggestion that age restrictions on motorbikes are "not fit for purpose" in 2020 and beyond.

Pictured: Deputy De Sausmarez said that, while work was being done on tackling noise pollution, the resources available for such work will be determined by the workstreams the Assembly chooses to prioritise.

"This issue does not relate solely to young motorcycle riders, and indeed is not simply limited to motorcycles either," she said. 

"Age restrictions will be discussed when our Committees meet, but it is an issue which extends far beyond the mandate of both E&I and Home Affairs. My feeling is that it would need much wider consultation if it is identified as an issue to be explored."

Pictured Top: The presidents of E&I and Home Affairs are hoping to work together to create a strategy to tackle noise pollution on the island.