Redbourn locals demand council tackles industrial noise

COUNCIL enforcement officers are investigating noise from an industrial processing site in Redbourn after a petition was lodged by residents annoyed at having their “environment completely disturbed”.

Kane Group has been asked to explain a sudden increase in noise after residents complained to both the district and county councils that they have been “disrupted” by the firm’s activities over the past five months.

A petition signed by 40 residents was received at a full St Albans district council meeting last week.

The document said: “We believe the noise comes from Kane’s machinery that is processing demolition waste brought to their site by their large lorries.

“The noise often starts early in the morning and continues for periods of one to two hours, with breaks in between, for the rest of the day. Due to the lie of the land the noise travels unimpeded across the Ver valley and so is particularly intrusive to residential areas immediately to the west of the River.

“We would like the County Council Environment Department to ascertain whether Kane’s [sic] have been granted permission to perform this noisy industrial processing activity at this site, which is so close to a residential area – or if they are in breach of their contract for permitted use of this site.

“If they are not in breech of their contract we would seek to have the terms of use changed as this is a totally inappropriate activity at this location.”

Redbourn councillor Maxine Crawley said that noise had decreased from the yard since the issue had been raised.

She had spoken to enforcement officers at both district and county councils as she supported the residents’ petition and believed locals should not have to suffer disruption from noise, lorries and dust.

On March 23, Kane Group was given a planning contravention notice from county council asking the firm to explain its activities at the old station yard, Redbourn, and what official permission, including from district council, it had received to allow it to do so.

Cllr Crawley said she understood that Kane Group told county council it had been crushing concrete in Redbourn for about 30 years.

She said that residents are compiling “noise diaries” to record details of disruptive activity.

Chair of Redbourn parish council, Vivienne Windle, said that lorry movements in and out of Kane’s yard were also causing local concern, as they were being parked in narrow roads and creating traffic congestion.

She said council had discussed the issue and, “we are of the view that there should be no expansion of or additional activities at Kane, and they should be discouraged from keeping their vehicles in the narrow roads.”

Kane Group declined to comment when approached by the Herts Advertiser.