A last-ditch attempt to save Sandwich’s historic church chimes depends on the support of district councillors tonight.

Cllr M.J. Holloway is expected to ask his fellow members for their backing in a letter to the Minister of Communities and Local Government about the issue at St Peter’s Church.

In the letter, he will ask the government to set out robust guidance in dealing with statutory noise nuisance from church bells and chimes.

In November, a noise abatement notice was issued requesting managers of the church, Churches Conservation Trust, to silence or muffle the chimes between 11pm and 7am excluding on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve.

It came after Dover District Council carried out decibel tests following a single complaint from a resident about the four-times-an-hour chimes.

The CCT has 90 days to take action.

If new guidance promoting the value of such traditions is given, Save the Chimes campaigners hope the abatement notice could be overturned.

An email from campaigners was expected to be sent to all councillors this morning, urging them to support Cllr Holloway’s motion.

They are asking for a common sense approach, in line with a statement released by former communities secretary Eric Pickles in 2015 (see below) which was issued but never implemented because it didn’t go through the due process.

Carole George, who is leading the campaign, said: “Our MP Craig Mackinlay has, very publicly, referred to the need for common sense. Others have called for common sense. I now ask you to bring some common sense to this.

“We simply ask that the order be deferred for six months, to allow time for the government to reinforce or reiterate, with retrospective effect, their 2015 guidance to councils.
“After 239 years in the life of this clock, this is not a lot to ask.”

A full council meeting of district councillors will be at held in Whitfield at 6pm tonight (Wednesday).

In 2015, former communities secretary Eric Pickles said: “Too many town halls have been over-zealous in trying to silence church bells and village clocks which have chimed for decades, if not centuries.

"We need some common sense about such long-standing community uses, and to recognise such sounds are part of the fabric of Britain’s national life, rather than trying to white-wash all the character out of our heritage.

“My department has now issued new, clear guidance to councils that the local character of a place should be taken into account during noise disputes, whilst ensuring councils still have powers to tackle new noise pollution that was never previously there.

“If people don’t like the chime of a church bell that has sounded for centuries, they should reflect on whether they want to live next door to a church in the first place or consider the merits of double glazing.”