Red cards could be handed to Hampstead Garden Suburb residents in crackdown on noise
Leaf blowers are said to be one of the bugbears in the Suburb - Credit: Archant
Residents of what is supposed to be a tranquil neighbourhood could find referee-style red and yellow cards posted through their doors in a new clamp down on noisy petrol-driven gardening tools.
One idea to curb noisy neighbours is to post yellow and red cards through their doors - Credit: EMPICS Sports Photo Agency
In a plea for the Hampstead Garden Suburb to be even more tranquil, inhabitants and gardening contractors are being asked to ditch their modern machinery and instead return to using “old fashioned” manual gardening tools.
It comes after the Suburb has been blighted in recent years by the constant noise of leaf blowers, hedge trimmers and lawn mowers – with fed up residents wanting repeat offenders to be put under pressure.
The Hampstead Garden Suburb Residents’ Association (HGSRA) last month set up a special “noise abatement committee” in response to the rise in complaints.
Gary Shaw, secretary of the HGSRA, told the Ham&High: “Noise problems have grown in recent years and it has made it difficult for residents to relax or work.
“We can’t impose anything on people but we hope to nudge them into recognising noise can be very disturbing.
“One of the things we are thinking about doing is putting polite red and yellow cards through residents’ doors.
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“We also hope we can encourage people or their gardeners to use old fashioned, manual gardening tools.
“It’s all about trying to remind people – politely – of the impact noise can have on their neighbours.”
Dogs left barking in gardens for hours on end are also on the committee’s hit-list.
The HGSRA says it will look in the coming months at using what it termed “social pressure” to target repeat offenders.
The new committee will meet quarterly.
After one year it will “assess what progress has been made and whether it should continue.”
