HERITAGE PROTECTION SOCIETY (TASMANIA) INC.P.O. Box 513 Launceston Tasmania 7250
9 July 2011
TO: The Mayor,
Alderman Albert van Zettan
Launceston City Council
Town Hall
St John Street
LAUNCESTON TAS 7250
Dear Mr Mayor,
We write once more regarding the Launceston Centenary Clock in the Launceston Post Office Tower.
We note for the third time, the reference in Council's Agenda by Alderman Ivan Dean for an enquiry into calls for the striking of the time to be ceased during the night. As a community-based organisation established to recognise
and protect our cultural heritage, we very strongly argue for the continuation of the present arrangements.
and protect our cultural heritage, we very strongly argue for the continuation of the present arrangements.
We are confident that Launceston citizens do not want the clock silenced at night, and accordingly ask that at its meeting Council not waste resources progressing this matter.
Town clocks with chimes are a common feature in most historic, but also in modern, cities, towns and communities across the world. These clocks are abmajor heritage attraction, and source of great pride in their communities, as it is here in Launceston, Australia's third oldest city.
In middle eastern countries, for instance, the ringing out and calling out from prayer centres is another commonly accepted practice. It would be unheard of for such practices to be silenced.
We find it disappointing that Ald. Dean, being also Chairman of LCC's Heritage Advisory Committee, has not sought an opinion on the night-time silencing of the clock, from that committee prior to again bringing the issue before Council. This may have been because from our enquiry of committee membership, we believe that such support would not be forthcoming.
In relation to an associated issue, on 4th August 2010 we drew Council's attention to the words of the prayer that relate to the musical chimes in Launceston. These words are recorded in a framed document within the Post Office Tower, at the level of the mechanism. We suggested that the words be Launceston Centenary Clock placed in a suitable display case at the public level of the Post Office, along with other information of an historical nature concerning the clock.
In relation to an associated issue, on 4th August 2010 we drew Council's attention to the words of the prayer that relate to the musical chimes in Launceston. These words are recorded in a framed document within the Post Office Tower, at the level of the mechanism. We suggested that the words be Launceston Centenary Clock placed in a suitable display case at the public level of the Post Office, along with other information of an historical nature concerning the clock.
We offered to assist with this task, and also said we would be prepared to raise some funds towards the cost. We are disappointed that there has not been any progress to advance this concept.
We look forward to gaining Council's support.
Yours faithfully,
We look forward to gaining Council's support.
Yours faithfully,
Lionel J. Morrell
President
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A UK PRECEDENT: Anger as single complaint silences Burntisland clock A ding-dong has developed after a historic town clock was silenced following a single complaint about noise.
Some 300 Burntisland residents have signed a petition to have the chimes of the High Street clock reinstated after they were switched off following the objection.
The clock, part of the Burgh Chambers and thought to have been keeping time in the town for over a century, was silenced by Fife Council after the complaint stated the noise was keeping a resident awake ... Click here to read this story online
ANOTHER UK PRECEDENT: People call for return of chimes
Calls by a rector to restore the traditional chimes of a historic church clock have been given a huge vote of support by local people.
The Rector of Wallingford, the Rev John Morley, has attacked Wallingford Town Council for continuing to silence the recently restored town clock.
A voteline set up by the Oxford Mail's sister paper, The Wallingford Herald, set up to find out the views of our readers, revealed 90 per cent thought the clock's traditional chimes should be reinstated.
The result makes a mockery of claims by town councillors that the bells would be an unwelcome nuisance, and Mr Morley urged members to back down and let the bells be heard ... Click here to read this story online
Some 300 Burntisland residents have signed a petition to have the chimes of the High Street clock reinstated after they were switched off following the objection.
The clock, part of the Burgh Chambers and thought to have been keeping time in the town for over a century, was silenced by Fife Council after the complaint stated the noise was keeping a resident awake ... Click here to read this story online
ANOTHER UK PRECEDENT: People call for return of chimes
Calls by a rector to restore the traditional chimes of a historic church clock have been given a huge vote of support by local people.
The Rector of Wallingford, the Rev John Morley, has attacked Wallingford Town Council for continuing to silence the recently restored town clock.
A voteline set up by the Oxford Mail's sister paper, The Wallingford Herald, set up to find out the views of our readers, revealed 90 per cent thought the clock's traditional chimes should be reinstated.
The result makes a mockery of claims by town councillors that the bells would be an unwelcome nuisance, and Mr Morley urged members to back down and let the bells be heard ... Click here to read this story online
4 comments:
'You can't silence church bells'
Saturday, October 25, 2008
This is Devon ... Go to:
PEOPLE who buy a house near a cricket pitch, church bells or a pub have few grounds to moan about the noise later, the High Court has ruled.
The decision has been welcomed in the Westcountry where there have been cases of people moving into a village only to then complain that the local church bells are spoiling their quality of life.
A judge said incomers who knew about the potential disturbance before they moved in had few grounds for challenging the perceived nuisance.
Last year, a couple sparked outrage in the Mid-Devon town of Crediton after they called for the church clock bell to be silenced for the first time in 150 years.
The clock at the Holy Cross Church chimes on the hour and every 15 minutes but Claire and Peter Robinson, who moved to the town in 2006, wanted the pealing stopped between 7pm and 9am.
Ms Robinson said at the time: "We chose our house carefully because a quiet life and a good night's sleep are important to us. We are not that close to the church, so the problem of bell noise didn't occur to us. But we were shocked to find out that we have to put up with a loud noise from the bells every 15 minutes all through the night, every night."
The complaint was overruled.
Lawyers now believe other long-standing establishments such as airfields, sports grounds, farms and churches could be offered some protection against similar noise complaints following the ruling in the High Court on Thursday.
The ruling came after a hearing into an appeal by St Albans Council in Hertfordshire which had supported a complaint from a woman that she could hear drinkers talking in a pub beer garden after she had moved in next door.
The court was told that Jane Lockley's garden adjoined the grounds of the pub.
The case originally went before magistrates who were satisfied that there was a noise nuisance but dismissed the case against the pub landlord after taking into account that Mrs Lockley had known about the pub when she moved in.
The decision has now been upheld by Mr Justice Forbes at the High Court, who dismissed an appeal from the council. His ruling will have implications for similar cases across the country.
Yesterday the Rector of Crediton, the Rev Nigel Guthrie, said he supported the ruling.
He said: "From the point of view of our bells, we're always very careful about when they're rung. Nevertheless, I think it does make a lot of sense because many people have valued the chime which was being complained about, and for someone to move here and say they don't like it and should be stopped does seem unfair on the majority."
In 2002, a row broke out in Totnes over chimes from the parish church's 115-year-old clock after the then rector received letters of protest from newcomers who complained it was keeping them awake.
The Rev Nicholas Martin silenced the bells following the complaints but reinstated them after receiving legal advice.
A spokesman for the diocese of Exeter said it "supported the traditional ringing of church bells".
He said: "This ruling appears to support such activities which place the church at the heart of the community."
In a similar case in 2000, residential care owner Derek Sharp eventually gave up his fight to keep his cockerel, Corky IV, after a protracted legal battle over the bird's crowing at his Torquay home
Does a High Court Ruling in the UK have a bearing on the legal situation in Australia ?
Is Ivan Dean on a hiding to nowhere with pursueing this cause?
We have moved to Launceston from a large regional centre in NSW. Compared to there Launceston is a very quiet city. There is no major highway running through it nor a major rail link. Those two factors back in NSW meant that there was a high and constant level of background noise, semitrailers revving their engines to climb a hill, locomotives doing the same etc. plus other traffic producing a relentless background drone.
The Post Office clock is as nothing compared to the city’s youth doing blockies and doughnuts especially on a wet night, live venues playing loud music at 2am, street skirmishes, rowdies out and about etc etc. They all seem so much louder without the background drone.
When the police, ambulance service and fire brigade turn their sirens off for oversensitive tourists would be a very good time to silence the Post Office clock. The clock was there long before the tourist accommodation so the operators needed to build with double glazing if they thought the clock was an issue. They might also give their complaining guests earplugs of earmuffs and perhaps bottle of champagne or whiskey.
Enough of this nonsense and the alderman pushing this barrow needs to get a life. The clock is a fantastic part of the city’s heritage and it needs to ring out its presence to announce the city’s heritage. The chimes are an asset not a liability. Let them ring out because our visitors love them as much as we do.
Angela, I'm sure Ivan Dean knows more about the law than any of us, after all he sits in the Legislative Council and writes laws every day AND he used to be a policeman so he is almost as close as it gets. Mr Dean is never wrong with his gut feelings either, even when he's guessing.
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