Ombudsman’s Office welcomes changes to procedures for granting special noise licences

Special noise licences are administrative permits – to be issued by local authorities (municipality or parish, depending on the case) – that allow temporary noisy activities to take place, under certain conditions, near sensitive locations (such as residential buildings, on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays, and on working days between 8pm and 8am, or near hospitals or similar establishments).

As this is a common problem in many local authorities, it was found that the granting procedure and the content of the special noise licences issued did not comply with the legal requirements in this area.
Specifically, it was found that the granting of special noise licences was not preceded by a technical assessment to ascertain the acoustic conditions at the site, and the content of the licences did not sufficiently specify the conditions under which noise could be produced and the prevention measures applicable to mitigate it.

Acting on the Ombudsman’s suggestion, the town hall in question made changes to its procedures in this area.