Filenews 19 November 2021 - byMichalis Hadjivasilis
A new legal framework aiming at the more effective control of the limits of sound emission from the recreational areas within hotels and floating discos, sets a bill submitted to Parliament by the Ministry of Interior and for which special attention will be given by the Interior Committee.
The proposed bill amends the Recreation Centres (Audio Emission Licenses) Law of 2016, in order to achieve the following:
>> Extension of the scope of the Law to the recreation areas located within hotels and tourist accommodations, as well as to venues for events on the beach and floating boats that anchor.
>> Adjustment of the maximum sound emission limits following an acoustic study depending on the location of the recreation areas and whether there are sensitive receivers nearby.
>> Introduction of tougher penalties for sound emission above the permitted limits.
Also, this bill aims to control the noise pollution created by recreation areas, through licensing, volume regulation, and the definition of a mechanism for receiving public complaints about noise pollution. Among other things, in this bill, new definitions are introduced in the basic law, such as "floating space", so that it is also included in recreation and entertainment areas, and the "sensitive receiver", so that it refers to permanent residents but also to temporary residents or guests in any licensed building.
At the same time, the present bill proposes that the sound emission license should be valid for the hours set by the competent Authority, disconnecting it from the opening hours as it was in force until now, with some reservations, such as ending the sound emission at least thirty (30) minutes before the opening hours of the centre and at the same time, the competent Authority is entitled to further reduce the hours of sound transmission in cases where there are sensitive receivers around the recreation area. At the same time, responsibility is granted to the Deputy Ministry of Tourism, so that it can vary the hours of sound transmission determined by a competent authority for the areas where entertainment and recreation developments are allowed.
It is noted that the proposed amending bill was subject to the statutory technical control by the Legal Service of the Republic, which forwarded it to the Ministry of Interior in a letter of the day. 30/9/2021.
Also, during the preparation of the bill by the Ministry of Interior, a consultation with stakeholders took place. It is noted that the issue of the procedure followed in case of submission of a complaint by any person to the relevant competent Authority for the emission of excessive sound from a recreation area, was addressed by the Ministry of Interior, which in consultation with the Ministry of Justice and Public Order, proposes in this bill the continuation of the involvement of the Police, so that the officers of each competent Authority are always accompanied by a police officer and not only in exceptional cases, where it is established by the competent authority concerned that increased security measures are needed to investigate the complaint.
The bill defines the term "sensitive receiver", which means a person who resides permanently or temporarily or is accommodated or present by paying or not, in any building for which a building permit has been issued and which is used on the basis of its licensed use.
Imprisonment of up to three years
The bill provides for stricter penalties for offenders, since anyone who exceeds the maximum sound emission limits or the hours of sound transmission, as indicated on the audio emission license, is guilty of an offence and, if convicted, is liable to imprisonment not exceeding six months or to a fine not exceeding €5,000 or to both of these penalties.
It is also provided that if someone commits the same offence within a period of two years from the previous conviction, then he is punished with imprisonment not exceeding three years or with a fine not exceeding € 30,000 or with both sentences. There is also provision for the confiscation of machines in case of non-compliance as well as the issuance of extrajudicials that in one night can reach up to €5,000.
