'Horrendous noise' of pile driving machine near Bromyard Road, St John's

The work on the affordable housing development is underway near St John's House Medical Centre at the top of Bromyard Road, St John's, Worcester.

We have previously reported on the plan to build 120 homes by Vistry Partnerships and Stonewater on the land known as University Park off Bromyard Road.

The estate will include a mix of two-to-four-bed homes.

WARNING: One of the signs outside the building site in Bromyard Road/University Park Drive (Image: WARNING: One of the signs outside the building site in Bromyard Road/University Park Drive)

However, the 'relentless' hammering sound on the site, managed by Vistry Partnerships, is provoking complaints from residents who have been told the ear-splitting crashing could continue for the next four weeks.

Cllr Richard Udall, a St John's Labour county and city councillor, says the machine is so loud people can still hear it from the other side of the River Severn.

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The work is taking place at University Park Drive at two sites.

Noise monitoring kit was in place. The pile driver was not in operation when a reporter visited the area on Friday afternoon although other, heavy-duty machinery was running.

CONCERN: The machine said to be creating the noise near Bromyard Road, St John's (Image: CONCERN: The machine said to be creating the noise near Bromyard Road, St John's)

One resident, who declined to be named, said: "You get it double because of the echo. It's just this big pilon pounding the ground all day - a minimum of seven to eight hours a day. We were going insane because of the noise. It's enough to drive you mental."

Still receiving a large number of complaints about the pile driving taking place on Bromyard Road, the noise is relentless and can be heard over a mile away. Unfortunately, there is little we can do, it's expected to last for four weeks. We need better regulation to prevent this

— Richard Udall, the Voice of St John's (@UdallVoice) October 6, 2022

Another resident, 76, said: "It's very noisy. You feel the vibrations all around the house. It's annoying but if the work needs to be done, it needs to be done."

Cllr Richard Udall said: “I have received many complaints from a very wide area, I live nearly a mile away from the site and can hear the noise, other residents tell me they can even hear it on the other side of the river. 

"It's horrendous, a constant repetitive, relentless and loud banging noise.  To add insult to injury, we have been informed it will be on-going for four weeks. 

OUCH: Cllr Richard Udall said the noise across St John's was 'horrendous' (Image: OUCH: Cllr Richard Udall said the noise across St John's was 'horrendous')

"Most people have had no prior notice or warning, some local residents are sensitive to noise, they have no escape from it.  It's very intrusive and disturbing. It’s having a very serious and detrimental impact on the quality of life of many residents."

Cllr Udall confirmed he has asked both Planning Enforcement and Environmental Health to intervene.

However, he said: "Both appear to be powerless to help, as long as the construction works happen between 7.30am and 6pm, we have no power. 

"I would hope the construction company can consider attaching noise dampeners or echo barriers to the machine, to try and reduce its impact, clearly the work needs to be done, but it shouldn’t have to be so disruptive and damaging to so many residents."

A Worcester City Council spokesperson said it was aware of the concerns and added: "Having investigated these concerns we have not evidenced any breach of the conditions attached to the planning approval regarding working hours and best practice that aims to limit the impact of noise on local residents.

"Should residents be concerned that significant noise nuisance is occurring outside of these requirements then this should be reported to Worcestershire Regulatory Services on 01905 822799 or email enquiries@worcsregservices.gov.uk.”

We did approach Vistry Partnerships and the doctor's surgery for a comment.