Church loses noise appeal
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A CHURCH has accused the council of taking away the ability to praise God by restricting the volume of its congregation.
In what has been described as an “ugly case”, the Immanuel International Christian Centre has failed to overturn a noise abatement notice issued following a complaint from a neighbour.
Baha Uddin claimed he was unable to use his garden at weekends, and his one-year-old daughter was regularly disturbed by amplified music used by the church during sermons.
He said: “It’s been a nightmare. I’ve not been able to use my garden or living room on a Sunday because of the church services. The amplified music, drums and the loud sermons made having a conversation impossible.
“We had to move my daughter Anisah from her cot into our bed which wasn't ideal because we want her to be used to sleeping in her cot.”
“The noise made me depressed. I felt guilty because I bought the house and I felt I had made the wrong decision.”
But another neighbour in Vallentin Road, Walthamstow, said noise was not a problem and the church says the council action ignores the church’s “need to worship”.
Church Pastor Dunni Odetoyinbo claimed a council officer had asked her “to keep the noise down so as not to offend the Muslim community.”
However, she refused to reveal the officer’s identity or elaborate on the claims when questioned by Rishi Nathwani, prosecuting for the council.
Church secretary Adetunji Ajike said: “Has the council considered our need – the need to worship? The noise abatement notice is unreasonable and takes away the ability for us to praise God.”
Paul Diamond, mitigating, said: “There is something ugly in this case. The church was given the information that this was a political matter – a Muslim was making a complaint and people would say something.”
Mr Nathwani said: “The council is legally obliged to serve an abatement notice on the first visit.
“However, officers visited on numerous occasions and tried to work with the church. I believe the council has been more than reasonable in this instance.”
Alan Simms, bench chairman, dismissed the church’s appeal and ordered it to pay £2,250 costs.
The church can now only play music for 20 minutes on a Sunday between 11.30am and 11.50pm.
Speaking after the hearing at Waltham Forest Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday, Mrs Odetoyinbo, 55, said: “I think the ruling is very unfair. The council says we have been creating excessive noise but nobody at the council has explained what is excessive noise.”
She said that the congregation has shrunk from 100 to 30 because of the restrictions, and the ministry will suffer financially because it can no longer hire out its hall for events.
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For a moment there I thought I was going to pass out with having to pronounce all those fine, upstanding English names.
