Villagers furious after church banned from ringing 'nuisance' 177-year-old bells following complaints from neighbour

Daily Mail​

a day ago

A village church has been deemed a 'nuisance' and forced to silence its chiming clock after being slapped with a council order - following 'a ridiculous villager complaint'.
St Michael's in Mytholmroyd, West Yorkshire, was stunned to receive an abatement notice about its beloved clock bells.
The church was ordered to silence the chiming between 11pm and 7am after being notified of a complaint from a disgruntled resident of the proud village.
Traditionally the clock - a staple in the village for up to 177 years - has rung out the full Westminster chimes, with four quarter bells that chime every 15 minutes and a bell that strikes on the hour.
A £2,500 device would be needed to limit the bells to only chiming at night - so in order to comply with the Calderdale Council order, the bells have temporarily fallen silent for the first time in more than a century.
Now devastated residents of the village - birthplace of poet Ted Hughes - have slammed the decision and set up an online petition to reinstate the bells, claiming they're 'the soundtrack of our community's daily life'.
Roy Wrathall, who's been a church warden at St Michael's for nine years, said the church was there 'for everybody' so they would comply with the notice.
'We don't have the facilities to silence overnight,' he said.
An online petition calling for the church bells to be allowed to peal again has attracted 1,296 signatures
'There's very much two sides to it.
'There's "I'm awake in the night, there goes the clock, that reassures me" and "I can't get to sleep because I keep hearing that clock every 15 minutes".
'It's not an easy one to resolve.
'Wearing the church hat - we're there for everybody, so we'll do what the law says we have to do and do our best to try and please as many people as we can.
'The only way we can comply between 11pm and 7am is to stop the chimes.
'The clock's still going but the chimes have stopped.'
The eerie silence has been a particular blow as many locals associated the return of the chimes with the village recovering from devastating floods which also inundated the church in 2015.
'There was several feet of water in there - right by the river and houses around the same,' Mr Wrathall said.
'There was no electricity, no street lights and there was no clock going in the church so there were no chimes, it was silent.
'One of the things that was a sign of recovery to a lot of people was when the clock started chiming again, things were getting back to what they viewed as the norm.
'There are people who still find the clock during the night reassuring, but equally there's someone down in the village who it doesn't work like that for.'
Furious locals have set up a Change.org petition to reinstate the bells, which has racked up 1,296 signatures.
The petition reads: 'Growing up in the heart of Mytholmroyd, the sound of St Michael's church bells ringing through the village has been a cherished part of my life.
'These bells have chimed since 1848, long before any of us were here - a symbol of continuity and community for over a century.
'My family's roots run deep in this village, and for us, as for numerous other residents, the chimes are more than bells - they are the soundtrack of our community's daily life.
'We propose that Calderdale council reconsider their decision and engage with the community to find a solution that satisfies both the individual who raised the complaint and the majority of village residents.
'Solutions such as soundproofing options for the complainant's residence.
'Preserving these bells means preserving our history and community.
St Michael's Church says it has been left with no choice but to silence the chimes 'completely' following 'a complaint from a neighbour'
'Their sound is a legacy we must protect for future generations.
'Support our campaign to keep the bells of St Michael's ringing in Mytholmroyd.'
One supporter wrote: 'Born and bred in Mytholmroyd, still my home in my heart.
'The bells of Saint Michael's need to be heard, not silenced.'
Another commented: 'Growing up in the 'Royd those bells were my clarion call to get home for dinner.
'With the bells silenced I worry about the poor children who may starve for lack of eating dinner.
'I feel that 177 years of the bells ringing being silenced by one objector is ridiculous.'
Calderdale Council says it has received 'several complaints from local residents about the noise of the church clock chime overnight, and the substantial impact it was having on their quality of life'.
'We investigated the complaints in line with our legal duty, and this involved identifying whether the noise was causing a substantial or unreasonable impact on the quality of life of those who had complained,' said Danielle Durrans, cabinet member for public services and communities.
'The noise from churches and other similar establishments is something that many councils across the country have had to investigate.
'We understand how much local people value heritage and the tradition of the church clock.
'However, the evidence from our investigation showed that the regularity and volume of the bell chiming, at the time of night when people are sleeping, was causing a substantial impact, so we had no option but to determine a statutory nuisance and serve an abatement notice requiring the chimes not to operate between 11pm and 7am.
'We have received no appeals against the abatement notice, and the decision to stop the chiming during the day as well as night-time was taken by the town council and Erringdon Benefice.'