Momentum pledges to tackle nuisance noise
Residents are being passed from one authority to another with no action being taken, the party said
Momentum has pledged to tackle nuisance noise across the country.
In a statement Friday morning, the party said residents in various localities were seeing their quality of life eroded by excessive noise from venues and parties.
When complaining about the issue, residents were being passed from one authority to another with no action being taken, the party said.
It said it would push for “clear decibel limits”, round-the-clock noise monitoring, automatic and escalating fines for repeat offenders and one entity being assigned to deal with noise complaints.
“Year after year, in town after town, the same complaints surface: uncontrolled music late into the night, parties and venues with no decibel control, and authorities passing residents from one office to another with nothing ever changing”, the party said.
It said that residents in localities including Mosta, Attard, Rabat, Zebbug, St Paul’s Bay, Sliema, Paceville, Pembroke, Valletta, Swieqi and "many other localities” were seeing their quality of life eroded.
Elderly residents, people with health conditions, students and employees working early shifts were “all paying the price for an enforcement vacuum that has been normalised”.
Momentum said that while a legal framework to tackle noise complaints already existed – pointing to noise and environmental regulations and local council powers – “the will to use them is missing”.
The party said complaints were “routinely bounced” between the environmental health department, police and local council. “By the time anyone responds, the music has stopped, the evidence is gone, and the offender knows that nothing will follow.”
Momentum candidate Mark Camilleri Gambin said the party would push for four “concrete changes” to tackle the issue.
He said the party would advocate for varying decibel limits according to zone, time of day and whether the area is residential, mixed-use or commercial.
Permanent AI-powered noise sensors operating 24/7 and which flag repeat offenders should be installed in the worst-affected localities.
Escalating fines should be introduced for repeat offenders, with the first breach of noise limits subject to a warning, the second a fine and the third triggering a licence review for venues and “structured penalties” for residential offences.
Camilleri Gambin said the party would also push for a “single point of accountability”, with one entity to be responsible for complaints.
“Sleep is not a luxury, and peace at home is not a privilege. Residents have done their part. They have complained, they have organised, they have shown patience for years. The state has not done its part,” he said.
“Celebrations, cultural events and the night-time economy can all coexist with residents’ right to rest. What cannot coexist is endless noise with zero consequences.”