UK ministers vow to protect church bells from noise abatement orders

Government ministers in the U.K. have confirmed that church bells will be protected from noise abatement orders under new planning rules.

Church bells in the U.K. have been chiming for centuries, but some churches had been forced to comply with noise abatement orders following complaints from a handful of neighbors.

Ministers have said that the official planning guidance in England would be changed to keep the bells tolling. They contended that churches should not be subjected to "unreasonable restrictions" just because new homes were built in nearby lands.

"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," said Sajid Javid, the secretary of state for Communities and Local Government, as reported by Daily Mail.

The announcement has been hailed by Becky Clark, the Church of England's director of Churches and Cathedrals.

"The Church Buildings Council - the body which helps dioceses maintain church buildings - supports the continued use of church buildings as places of worship, including proclaiming their presence through the ringing of bells," Clark said, as reported by The Telegraph.

"We maintain a register of historic bells, some of which date back to the 13th century, and provide grants to help with their care and conservation. Bell ringing has been part of Christian worship for a thousand years," she added.

A source told The Telegraph that the planning rules already state that no unreasonable restrictions can be put on businesses and churches just because new establishments have emerged since they were built.

Developers who are granted permission to build new structures will be responsible for solving sound problems and avoiding older establishments from running into issues as a result of noise complaints from neighbors, the source further noted.

The ministers said that they have set out to amend the National Planning Policy Framework to give greater emphasis to the issue by formulating rules that would take existing businesses and other organizations, such as churches, into account when locating new development nearby.

The proposed changes to the planning rules came after the bells at St. Peter's Church in Sandwich, Kent were silenced between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. last November due to a complaint from a single neighbor. The bells have chimed every 15 minutes at the 13th century church since in 1779.

The Daily Mail reported that more than 4,000 people have signed a petition to keep the bells ringing, but the council insisted that it has a "statutory duty" to investigate noise complaints.