Clocktower chimes silenced after ding-dong over angry noise complaint

A council’s ended its 137-year tradition of chiming its clocktower every 15 minutes – after a noise complaint from a nearby resident.The bells of Birkenhead Town Hall now toll just on the hour, rather than every 15 minutes, after the fed-up local man made an official noise complaint to Wirral Council about their own clock.Wirral Council have confirmed the times were changed after their own environmental health officer found the sounds were a “statutory noise nuisance”.But local heritage campaigner Philip Barton said many local people cherished the more regular chime and “live their lives by them”.Birkenhead Town Hall was built in 1887, designed by local architect Charles Ellison in 1882 and constructed using Scottish granite and sandstone from the now filled in local quarry at Storeton, on the Wirral.

The building consists of a council chamber, offices, with a concert hall and function rooms known as the Assembly Rooms.The clock tower is 200ft tall with four faces but after a fire in 1901, the upper part was rebuilt to a design by Henry Hartley.The Town Hall still retains some civic service, such as the municipal registration centre for births, marriages and deaths and as a venue for local and national elections.On September 9, 2022 – the day after the death of Queen Elizabeth II – the bells bonged 96 times at noon to mark the 96 years of the late monarch’s life.But the council claim a resident who lived nearby had complained about the volume and frequency of the quarter-hourly tolling of the bells, prompting a noise investigation.

An officer went to their home and measured the noise, finding the chiming to have breached limits capable of being classed as a nuisance.A council spokeswoman said a “compromise” was reached to move to hourly chimes while the authority considered other options.Mr Barton said: “We’ve all got clocks and watches and phones to tell the time, but the chimes are a little bit more than that.”The campaigner said he understood the council had to comply with its own noise rules, but added “as far as I’m aware, it’s the first complaint in 137 years”, adding that it was a “great shame” the bells would not be heard as often.

In March residents in a Devonshire village were up in arms after their local council had to spend £2,000 to silence church bells – again due to a single noise complaint.  

For 150 years, the bells of St John the Baptist’s Church in Witheridge have chimed every quarter-hour throughout the day and night. 

But now they must stop ringing overnight – although can bong one chime every 15 minutes during the day. 

The complaint had been filed to North Devon Council, which subsequently slapped Witheridge Parish Council with a noise abatement notice – muffling the bells after dark until the parties could come to an agreement. 

A solution was offered – though, at the cost of £2,000 – an automated silencer device, meaning the clock would only ring out on the hour between 7am and 11pm, and not at all in the night. 

The church’s vicar, Rev Adrian Wells, later accepted fitting the silencer was a “good compromise” but the row prompted a Change.org petition by residents to restore the church’s “cherished” familiar chimes. 

David Gale, 75, who started the petition, said hearing the bells in the night was “fantastic and atmospheric”, and slammed the response to the complaint.

Mr Gale added: “Loads of residents speak about being awake in the night and hearing the comforting sound of the bell. 

“If somebody lived near Big Ben and they decided they didn’t like the noise, they wouldn’t be able to do anything about it. 

“It’s just the unfairness of one person controlling what the rest of the whole village have been used to for years – the clock has been ticking away.” 

It is understood the complainant has since moved out of the village anyway. 

North Devon Council said at the time: “The noise level from the clock bell was assessed by qualified and experienced officers of our environmental protection team. 

“They considered the loudness, the frequency and duration of the noise. It was considered that the chime every 15 minutes was likely to wake or disturb the sleep of the complainant and other residents nearby. 

“The council has been contacted by other residents expressing disappointment at the silencing of the clock bells. However, most of these were not in close proximity to the bells and unlikely to be significantly impacted by the noise.”