London: Church bells are to win protection under new planning rules to stop people who move into towns and villages forcing councils to silence them.
Ministers said official planning guidance in England would be changed for new homes to show that the Government is now “standing up for churches”.
Churches have repeatedly had to comply with noise abatement orders to silence church bells after complaints from often only a handful of home owners, despite the fact that they have tolled for decades or even centuries.
However, ministers have now decided that churches should not have “unreasonable restrictions put on them because of changes in nearby land uses since they were established” because new homes are built near them.
Sajid Javid, the housing minister, told The Daily Telegraph: “Churches have been part of British life in towns and villages for centuries.
“Their bells should not be silenced by new housing going up, which is why planning policy will be strengthened to ensure it will be up to developers building new properties nearby to identify and tackle noise problems.”
The proposed law change came after Craig Mackinlay, the Tory MP, raised concerns in Parliament about a ban by Dover council on the chimes of the bells of St Peter’s Church, Sandwich.
Dover council had served an abatement notice after receiving a single formal complaint about the night time chimes of the church clock, despite it having chimed since 1779.
Mackinlay said: “Church bells have tolled for centuries across the country and it is vital that they can continue to be heard.”
