Business taken to court after ignoring warnings

A noisy commercial laundry which caused misery for residents has been ordered to pay more than £30,000.

MacGill of Kensington LLP, based in Greenock Road, Acton, appeared at Ealing Magistrates Court on 2 July 2013 to plead guilty to eight charges relating to excessive noise at company’s premises.

MacGill laundry came to attention of the council’s noise nuisance team in July 2012. Nearby residents has complained that the noise coming from the laundry was disturbing them day and night, preventing them from enjoying their homes and disturbing their sleep.

Following an investigation, a verbal warning was issued. However, despite the owners of the business agreeing to take action to reduce the noise, the disturbance continued. A legal noise abatement notice was served to the business a week later with which the laundry also failed to comply.

After more complaints and council investigations a further notice was issued to MacGills who were informed the council intended to apply for an injunction in the High Court.

Despite the business saying they would comply with this latest notice, and carrying out works to make some of their equipment quieter, residents continued to be disturbed during the day and night. Council officers continued to visit the laundry and surrounding homes and found the noise coming from the dryers to be at an unacceptable level on several further occasions.

In court, the company pleaded guilty to eight breaches of the noise abatement notices and was ordered to pay £2,250 for each offence, £18,000 in total. They were also ordered to pay the council’s costs of £12,558.30 plus a £200 victim surcharge.

Councillor Ranjit Dheer, cabinet member for community services and safety, said: “This is a good result for the council and a clear warning to any company that thinks it can cause a persistent disturbance to its neighbours. MacGills behaved disgracefully to the people living close by and showed a blatant disregard for them.

“I’d like to thank all of the local residents who complained about this company and helped us to gather the evidence we needed to bring them to court.”

The council’s noise nuisance team can be reached on 020 8825 8111. The team is available Monday to Thursday 9am– 2am; Friday 9am–5am; Saturday midday – 5am; Sunday 2pm–11pm.

10th July 2013