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Following is a question by the Hon Lau Kong-wah and a written reply by the Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works, Dr Sarah Liao, at the Legislative Council meeting today (June 23) :

Question:

Regarding complaints about and regulation of noise, will the Government inform this Council:

(a) of the number of complaints received by the authorities about noise in the past three years, broken down by nature of the noise and year, and the number of successful prosecutions in this respect;

(b) whether noise complaint hotlines are operating on public holidays or outside office hours; if not, whether it will consider setting up such hotlines so that the authorities can promptly dispatch staff to measure the noise levels on site; and

(c) whether prosecutions for emitting excessive noise have been instituted over the past three years against organisers of large concerts, carnivals or rallies held at venues adjacent to residential areas, and whether the authorities will dispatch their staff to monitor the noise levels on site when it comes to their knowledge that such activities are being held at these venues, in order to prevent excessive noise emission?

Reply:

Madam President,

(a) The Environmental Protection Department (EPD) and the Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF) are the law enforcement authorities that handle noise complaints. According to their experience, in most complaint cases, the person creating the noise, after receiving their advice, would abate the noise within a short period of time to resolve the problem. Therefore, there is no need for them to take prosecution action.

The number of complaints related to the types of noise controlled by the Noise Control Ordinance received and handled by EPD and HKPF, and the number of successful prosecutions in the past three years are set out in the table below -

                               No. of Complaints (cases)

  Noise Type                     2001      2002      2003

  **********                     ****      ****      ****

  Industrial/Commercial Noise     3,502    3,530     3,608

  Neighbourhood and               3,969    5,177     3,391

  Public Place Noise 

  Construction Noise              2,285    2,697     1,848

  Intruder Alarm                  675       601       384

  Construction Equipment Noise    12         11         8

                     No. of Successful Prosecutions (cases)

  Noise Type                2001          2002        2003

  **********                ****          ****        ****

  Industrial/              49            19             23

  Commercial Noise 

  Neighbourhood and Public  27            24             17

  Place Noise

  Construction Noise       240           195             81

  Intruder Alarm            4              1              0

  Construction Equipment Noise  0          0              2

(b) EPD operates a 24-hour hotline to receive public complaints against environmental pollution (including noise problem). The hotline is manned by EPD staff during office hours and served by a recording system outside office hours and on public holidays. Members of the public may also report any noise annoyance to the nearest police station at any time. As mentioned in part (a) of the answer above, in most complaint cases, the person creating the noise, after receiving the advice of the enforcement authorities, would abate the noise within a short period of time to resolve the problem. Therefore, there is no need for the enforcement officers to measure the noise for follow-up action. Where advice from the enforcement authorities cannot resolve the problem, they will carry out noise measurement and consider taking prosecution action under the Noise Control Ordinance.

(c) In the past three years, EPD and HKPF had not prosecuted any organiser of large-scale concerts, carnivals or rallies for generating excessive noise.

Organisers of large-scale open-air activities should avoid causing noise annoyance by following the 'Noise Control Guidelines for Holding Open Air Entertainment Activities' issued by EPD. According to the Guidelines, the organiser of the activity should set up a complaint hotline during the event and monitor the noise level at residential areas in the vicinity. Members of the public may lodge complaints with the organiser about any noise annoyance through the hotline and request immediate follow-up action. If immediate assistance is needed, they can also contact EPD or the nearest police station so that appropriate action can be taken by the law enforcement officers. If EPD learns of an activity that will be held in an open-air venue and considers that the residents in the vicinity may be affected by excessive noise, it will send its staff to monitor the noise level generated by the activity. If necessary, EPD will offer the organiser advice or take enforcement action under the Noise Control Ordinance.

Ends/Wednesday, June 23, 2004

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