Petrol station noise angers locals

THE PUBLIC PROSECUTOR has asked for a six year prison sentence to be handed out to the manager of a petrol station in Rincón de la Victoria charged with noise pollution.

The petrol station’s manager is facing the possibility of a prison sentence because his carwash produces so much noise that local residents are being driven mad, with some even claiming to be suffering from depression as a direct result of the noise.

With the noise above the accepted level, the prosecution has accused the manager of committing crimes against the environment which seriously endanger public health. Furthermore, the prosecution has accused the manager of causing two counts of personal injury to nearby residents.

If convicted, the manager will face up to four years in prison as well as a 10-year ban on working within the industry and a fine of more than €9,000 in relation to the first charge, as well as one year in prison for each case of injury.

The accused ran the petrol station in Rincón de la Victoria from 2004 until October 2012, and throughout that period several complaints were made as to the elevated, and often excessive, level of noise produced in large part by the station’s carwash.

The noise mainly affected residents of a nearby urbanisation, and the eight-year period saw many complaints made to the Town Hall.

Two local residents were especially affected by the noise. They had to seek special psychiatric treatment as well as take medication to combat depression and anxiety.

The Prosecution argues that the noise level went way above the acceptable limit established in Andalucia’s regulations on noise pollution.