An extension, a loft conversion, or a full development next door brings a different kind of noise problem — loud, but usually temporary, and governed by its own legal framework rather than the ordinary neighbour-noise route. Knowing which tool applies makes a real difference to how quickly anything actually changes.
Section 60 and Section 61: two different mechanisms
Both come from the Control of Pollution Act 1974, and they work in opposite directions. Section 60is a notice the council can serve on a contractor at any time, unprompted, setting working hours, methods and noise limits for the site — and it can be made stricter if the council receives and upholds complaints. Ignoring it is a criminal offence. Section 61 works the other way: a contractor applies to the council beforework starts, sets out how they’ll control noise, and if the council approves it (they have 28 days to decide), the contractor is protected from a Section 60 notice for as long as they stick to what was agreed.
What 'normal working hours' actually means
There’s no single national law fixing construction hours — it varies by council and by site consent. As a real example of the kind of default many councils use, Westminster’s published construction code sets noisy work at 8am–6pm Monday to Friday and 8am–1pm Saturday, with no normal working on Sundays or bank holidays without separate consent. Your own council’s hours may differ — check their environmental health or planning pages, or the site’s specific Section 61 consent if one has been granted.
If the site is breaching its hours or conditions
Report it to the council’s environmental health team (or planning enforcement, if it’s a planning-condition breach rather than a noise one) with your evidence — dates, times, and what the work was. If there’s already a Section 60 notice or Section 61 consent in place, a breach of its specific terms is usually the fastest thing for the council to act on. If there’s no notice or consent at all and the council won’t engage, the ordinary statutory nuisance route still applies in principle — the same escalation path and, ultimately, Section 82— though taking a case against a construction company or developer is a bigger step than a dispute with an individual neighbour, and worth weighing carefully.
Evidence that actually helps here
- Note the type of work, not just the noise — short bursts of genuinely unavoidable noise (e.g. a single delivery) are treated very differently to hours of continuous drilling or piling.
- Record exact start times against the site’s stated hours — an 7:15am start against an 8am condition is a specific, checkable breach.
- Photograph any posted Section 61 notice or site hours board — it tells you exactly what standard the site has committed to.
- Keep a dated log across the whole project, not just the worst days — persistent early starts or late finishes build a pattern a single complaint can’t show.
This article is general information, not legal advice, and no outcome is guaranteed. For advice on your specific circumstances, consult a solicitor.