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Church Bells Fall Silent in Mytholmroyd After Noise Complaint

Residents have gathered nearly 1,300 signatures on a petition urging soundproofing measures to allow the church clock to chime again.

The chimes at St Michael’s church in Mytholmroyd used to sound every 15 minutes all night
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Overview

  • Calderdale Council served an abatement notice in April ordering St Michael’s Church to stop chiming between 11 pm and 7 am after multiple noise complaints from local residents.
  • Without a £2,500 device to restrict nighttime ringing, church officials opted to silence the full Westminster chimes entirely for the first time since 1848.
  • A Change.org petition demanding the bells’ return has attracted 1,296 signatures from villagers who describe the chimes as the soundtrack of their daily lives.
  • Many residents associate the church’s chimes with the village’s recovery from the devastating 2015 floods and have expressed strong emotional support for their reinstatement.
  • Council members are exploring solutions such as soundproofing the complainant’s home to balance heritage preservation with neighbors’ need for quiet.