A day nursery in Cornwall has been forced to reduce children's outdoor playtime after complaints from a local resident about excessive noise levels.
Environmental protection officers from Carrick District Council visited Chuckles Day Care Nursery in Perranwell, near Truro, in late June to investigate the complaints.
Officers decided that children at the 70-place nursery were creating disturbance when playing outside for up to four hours a day. On council recommendations, the nursery has agreed to reduce the time children spend outside to two hours a day. Mike Rogers, principal officer in environmental protection at the council, said, 'When judging if a noise is a statutory nuisance, officers will take into account the noise levels, duration and frequency.
'In the case of Chuckles, officers thought the nursery should try to reduce the duration of the children's playtime. The nursery is located in a residential area and some neighbours live just a few feet away over the fence.'
However, Mr Rogers said that Chuckles nursery would not be issued with a formal noise abatement order. He said, 'A nursery would have to be behaving in a very unusual way for us to take formal action under the Environmental Protection Act. Chuckles have agreed to the council's request and we have not received any further complaints since officers visited the nursery in June.'
Chuckles supervisor Jacqui Quinn was reported to be feeling 'sad' that the children's outdoor play time had been shortened, but said the nursery did not want to upset the local village and would comply with the council's request to reduce the noise.
National Day Nurseries Association chief executive Purnima Tanuku said, 'Outdoor play is a vital part of children's development, both physically and emotionally, and is one of the most enjoyable aspects of attending a day nursery.
'We would advise nurseries, where possible, to set up a freeflow environment where children have the opportunity to go outside when they wish, rather than at allotted playtimes. This means that children are not all outside at the same time and noise levels are reduced.
'Complaints about noise from nurseries in residential areas are commonplace, but communication with your neighbours and taking children on outings to the local park or playground can help reduce noise levels.'