Church bells are silenced in fear of European Union law

the Daily Telegraph ^ | 17 Oct 02 | By Richard Savill

[Glutton]

Complaints by new residents have silenced the church bells in a small country town after the vicar feared the chimes could be breaking European law.

The bells at St Mary's Church in Totnes, Devon - England's second oldest borough - have sounded every quarter of an hour since a civic subscription scheme paid for the clock to mark Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee in 1887.

But a small group of residents - believed to be newcomers - have protested that the chimes stop them sleeping at night.

"Amongst the old Totnesians, there is a certain amount of fury that I have silenced the clock," said the Rev Nicholas Martin.

"But I have been advised by a lawyer friend that the European Court of Human Rights has said people should be guaranteed the right to sleep free of noise, light or smell pollution.

"I felt therefore I had no alternative but to silence the clock, as technically we could be in breach of the law. I don't know if anyone would have taken us to court, but European law is becoming more important."

Mr Martin said he hoped that as a compromise he would be able to fit a special mechanism so that the chimes would only sound during daylight.

However, this would cost £1,500 and the church had already spent £100,000 on roof repairs, he added.

Mary Wesley, the best-selling author of The Camomile Lawn and one of the more established residents of Totnes, said: "I love the church, and the chimes are a big part of life down here. They should be enjoyed by everyone and it is very sad not to have them at the moment."

Totnes town council said an abatement notice could be served if there was excessive noise. "In this case we received a letter of complaint from a young family living about 90 yards from the church, who said they had difficulty sleeping because of the clock striking," said a spokesman.

"The next step would have been to visit the church late at night after the pubs had shut to see if the noise was excessive. However, I understand that the clock has since stopped, so as far as we're concerned, there won't be any further action."

[norton]

Close to the same reason people buy houses close to an airport (cheaper than a few blocks farther out) - then sue to limit flights to acceptible (to them) hours.
Of course, they then get all worked up over loss of jobs.

A house near a church wouldn't necessarily be cheaper, but it might have greater value if the church were 'seen and not heard'.
Besides, I don't suppose the neighbors in this instance are too worried about seeing a priest laid off.

Long and short of it seems to be that there are a significant number of people in the UK willing to be subjugated to Brussels rather than their local institutions.

Progress you know.

[dighton]

And then you move to the country.
The ABSENCE of noise will keep you awake for a while.

You might enjoy the Betty Boop cartoon, "Stop that Noise."

[Tlaloc]

.

[Romulus]

The bells at St Mary's Church in Totnes, Devon - England's second oldest borough - have sounded every quarter of an hour since a civic subscription scheme paid for the clock to mark Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee in 1887.

The bells of Christian churches once served to mark the canonical hours, not as civic conveniences for the honor of human sovereigns. But that was in another Church, and another age. The bells of St. Mary's have been abused for the sake of political correctness since at least 1887.