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LibDems propose ban on phone music on public transport.
The LibDems want to ban the playing of music on mobille phones’ loudspeakers on public transport, with fines of up to £,1000. Other countries have already imposed such bans. Earlier this year a man was fined €200 (£170) by rail staff for making a phone call on loudspeaker in a quiet area of Nantes station in France. To support the proposal, the Lib Dems commissioned polling that revealed 38% of people had experienced people playing loud music from their phones. The polling by Savanta found that 54% of people said they would not feel safe asking someone to turn down their music on public transport, a figure rising to 63% among women. Lisa Smart, the party’s home affairs speaker, said: ‘Far too many people dread their daily commute because of the blight of antisocial behaviour – and headphone dodgers playing loud music on buses and trains are some of the worst offenders.’ The Conservatives have said they may support the LibDem amendment.
All of which shows that some MPs are concerned about piped music. Never has there been a better time to write to your own MP about it!
Dominic Lawson lambasts amplified buskers!
In The Sunday Times for 6 April the renowned journalist Dominic Lawson hailed the decision by Judge John Law to ‘control the appalling amplified din of buskers’ in Leicester Square which had been tormenting people in the area for years. Judge Law ruled that very repetitive, loud and badly played ‘busking is akin to torture…. The sound was intense. The volume levels made communication with others nearby nearly impossible .’ Judge Law was finding in favour of Global Radio and against Westminster City Council which had refused to do anything about the noise made by ultra-amplified buskers in Leicester Square in the heart of London. The Council has repeatedly declined to control noise in London, for example allowing cacophonous busking just outside the Church of St Martins in the Fields in Trafalgar Square, so disrupting services and concerts in the church. Busking at this volume resembles piped music, because it is inescapable, very loud and almost non-stop. The problem is not busking per se but the amplifiers used to bombard those nearby. These have become smaller, cheaper and far more powerful. Many years ago Julian Lloyd Webber, the great cellist, supported the introduction of busking in public places, including London Underground. But in those days buskers had no amplifiers. The change comes from a combination of misused technology and a supine, inadequate local council. Sadiq Khan, London’s mayor, encourages amplified music at any volume across London, in this carrying on the policies of Boris Johnson who, as mayor, tried to make London the ‘busking capital of the world.’
Happily other councils in Britain are more enlightened and active. Manchester council stipulates that ‘buskers must not be present for more than 90 minutes in any one location’ and must not return within 24 hours. In Edinburgh buskers are asked to move on after half an hour and in Keswick buskers are not permitted to use amplification at all. Unfortunately, the police seldom enforce such sanity-saving laws.
Noise is the ”invisible killer”, says new report
Noise has been called ‘the invisible killer’ by Professor Charlotte Clark of St George’s University, University of London. ‘It is a public health crisis because we have got huge numbers of people exposed in their everyday lives.’ Noise is causing heart attacks, stroke, diabetes and dementia, insidiously affecting people even when they sleep. While no one in government wants to talk about it, ‘there is really good evidence that traffic noise affects heart health.’ she says. Only the cheerful sounds of the playground have a good effect on the body.
We have an ’emotional response to sound,’ says Professor Clark. Noise, detected by the ear, is passed onto the brain. One part of the brain, the amygdala, makes an immediate emotional assessment. If the noise seems threatening, the heart rate goes up and the nervous system is activated to release stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline. This increases heart rate, blood pressure and general inflammation in the body. ‘If you’re exposed like this over several years, your body is reacting all the time. This increases your risk of developing things like heart attacks, high blood pressure, strokes and Type 2 diabetes. You never turn off your ears. When you are asleep, you are still listening. ‘
Sign the petition to Parliament!
A NEW PETITION TO PARLIAMENT HAS BEEN STARTED. DO SIGN!
A petition to Parliament calling for ambient music to be banned from certain public places, principally hospitals and medical centres, has been started by Pipedown member James Lawrence.https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/704210/sponsors/new?token=HLdF9dtG58aU7yq8wee8
He argues: Hospitals and public transport, which almost everyone at times has to use, should always be places free of unnecessary extra noise. Private concerns, which most of also have at times to use, such as supermarkets, should also be discouraged from assaulting customers and staff with continual noise.
It has long been established that loud, aggressive ambient music can cause psychological and hearing damage and generally cause people stress. It is a form of psychological pollution, just as smoking pollutes the lungs.
WRITE TO YOUR (PROBABLY NEW) MP ABOUT NOISE!
More than half of MPs in the House of Commons are new. Many will never have given a moment’s thought to the problems caused by noise in general and by piped music in particular. Now is the time to write your MP (you can only write to the MP of your own constituency) about noise problems, while the MP. is still relatively fresh and not overwhelmed by floods of requests. Mention the points listed in the Fact Sheet and also in the varied on-line posts. Ask them if they would be interested in coming to a meeting about noise pollution. And please let Pipedown know their replies.
Lidl piped music alert!
Reports have been coming in that some branches of Lidl – the famously cheap and up to now famously muzac-free supermarket chain – have recently installed piped music. (Other people shopping at Lidlt have not discovered this – not yet,) Whether this is an experiment with just a few branches or the beginning of a nationwide plan to inflict muzac on shoppers and staff alike in all Lidl stores is not yet apparent, What is clear is that this needs concerted protest now,
Write to Lidl’s CEO Mr Ryan McDonnell at ryan.mcdonnell@lidl.co.uk to protest – vehemently, cogently but politely – against this ill-conceived move. Point out all the usual drawbacks of piped music – see the Fact Sheet and recent newsletters. Also stress that one of Lidl’s USPs has always been its peaceful atmosphere. If this is wrecked, the many people who find piped music intolerable, including all those with autism, ME, hyperacusis and other hearing problems are going to avoid Lidl’s stores like the plague.
Morrisons Goes Quieter
Supermarket chain Morrisons has changed its shopping rules. The supermarket currently has quiet hours between 9am and 10am on Saturdays, plus the first hour of opening on Sundays. It has now extended its quiet hours to include 2pm to 3pm every Monday to Thursday.
The announcement coincided with World Autism Acceptance Week from April 2 to April 8. The chain declared: ‘The initiative is for people who may struggle with music and other loud noises, for example those who have been diagnosed as autistic.’ Daniel Cadey of the National Autistic Society said: ‘Around 700,000 people are on the autism spectrum in the UK. This means they see, hear and feel the world differently to other people, often in a more intense way. Morrisons’ Quieter Hour is a step in the right direction for autistic people who find supermarket shopping a real struggle.’ (A Quieter Hour involves dimming lights, turning piped music and radios off, also making no loud tannoy announcements, plus turning down checkout beeps and other electrical noises.)
This is very good news from a large supermarket chain, not just for those with autism or the many other problems that make people unusually vulnerable to noise, but for everyone who hates piped music. We comprise about a third of the population, according to most surveys. We should quote Morrisons’ move to other chains in arguments and push Morrisons itself to extend their Quiet Hours much further, because most of the time their supermarkets are still cacophonous.
The Neglected Pollutants: the Effects of Artificial Light and Noise on Human Health
On 19 July 2023 the House of Lords published this report, the first to address the issue fully. Below is the summary of its findings. Although the Lords lacks the powers of the Commons, this is a significant step, calling on the government to take action.
Continue readingNoise and Soundscape Plan for Wales 2023 to 2028
`The Welsh government has released a draft plan for Wales which looks at almost all aspects of noise pollution.
The plan looks at many forms of noise, from onshore wind turbines to heat pumps and road traffic, examining the ill effects of mechanical noise on, for example, children’s development and the potential benefits of natural noises, such as water, birdsong and wind. The one major omission seems to be piped music, which has somehow escaped notice. See Noise and Soundscape Plan for Wales 2023-2028GOVWALES for details.
Do write in to protest at this omission.
The Open Consultation period closes on 2nd October 2023.