Government green light for minor extensions to construction hours
This was revealed in a newsletter from city councillors Greg Chadwick and Cheney Payne. It relates to construction work at Darwin Green but could potentially apply to any construction works including the hotel construction work at Eddington
Reported in newsletter (June 2020), Information from your Lib Dem City Councillors, Castle Ward Extra:
Extension to construction hours at Darwin Green
"Another dramatic change resulting from the coronavirus pandemic is that the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government announced in a ministerial statement on 13th May that in order to restart the construction industry, councils should not seek to enforce minor extensions to construction hours, and should give planning permission to developers applying to extend their hours beyond the usual 8am-6pm. This is to make social distancing on construction sites more possible without slowing down the building work itself.
"Cllr Cheney Payne brought a motion to full Council in May to ask that that when such requests from developers come to the city council, they consult with ward councillors before giving permission, and ask developers to do all they can to be sensitive in their use of extended hours. This gained cross-party agreement.
"Subsequently, Darwin Green have applied for permission to extend their construction hours to between 7am and 8pm on some occasions. There will be no construction on Sundays or Bank Holidays, and they are hoping not to need to use this extension regularly. We have requested that they aim to keep the noisier aspects of construction to within the previously agreed hours of 8am to 6pm (8am-1pm on Saturdays) and to keep the need for this extension under review. These comments have been passed to the developers.
"If you have a concern about ongoing noise before 8am or after 6pm, please do report them to the City Council’s Environmental Health team, who are aware of this extension and helping us to monitor it."
There is no indication a similar extension has been granted to the Eddington hotel construction.
