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Noisy
Extractor Fan Earns Record Fine For Restaurant Owner |
A SOUTHALL
restaurant owner who made residents' lives a misery by refusing to
reduce the noise from an extractor fan has been given a record fine
by magistrates.
For more than
two years Mohammed Javaid, owner of the Lahore Karahi restaurant,
29-31 Featherstone Road, Southall, repeatedly ignored warnings from
Ealing Council environmental health officers to stop the noise, which
was audible from as far as 100 yards away.
He was handed
a £15,000 fine at Acton magistrates for noise nuisance. The
maximum fine is £20,000 and previously, the highest fine given
out in Ealing for commercial noise offences was £3,000.
Javaid was
found guilty of noise nuisance by Acton magistrates on Thursday,
February 9. He failed to turn up at the hearing and the court put out
a warrant for his arrest for the sentencing on March 9.
Environmental
health officers first became involved following complaints from
residents and they served an abatement notice on August 31, 2003.
Residents had to suffer very loud extract equipment and an intrusive
humming noise as late as midnight daily over a two-year period.
The
defendant's counsel said at the sentencing that Javaid was remorseful
about the offences and had taken steps to remedy the problem by
installing a silencer and fan. Javaid was also ordered to pay costs
to the council of £336.
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