Almoradi Bells No More
A complaint by one resident of Almoradi near Alicante on the Costa Brava has stopped the bell in the Plaza de la Constitucion from ringing at night.This has been a tradition for 120 years and now the complaint from just one person has been upheld by the regionalenvironmental department.They discovered that the decibel level for the bell was 83 decibels when the authorised limit is 45 decibels.Consequently the town hall has been forced to silence the bells from22.00 to 8am.Why couldn’t they have complied with the 45 decibels?
It was alleged that the bells rang 424 times during the nightand the woman submitted a medical report showing that she was suffering from stress and lack of sleep.One councillor has said tht in his 10 years as a councillor not one person has complained.It might have been ascertained if it was the sound of the bell which had caused the stress and sleeplessness or whether those conditions enabled the lady to hear the bell because some other condition was affecting her.
The council have now stopped the bells from ringing at night and if the issue is taken to its extreme then it is possible that the bells will not be allowed to ring on New Year’s Eve either ,which would be ridiculous.