Cllr Aicha Less

THE city council is preparing to dump its noise team officers in a cost-cutting restructure of the service.

Westminster’s noise team was recently cut from 16 special environmental health officers, EHOs, down to eight, with the remaining eight jobs now on the line.

A Soho resident said a Westminster City Council officer had raised concerns about the changes during a recent inspection.

The resident said: “We all know what impact noise has on mental health and quality of life. I for one, would much rather WCC spends money on noise inspectors.”

A spokesperson for the council said it was still prioritising noise and the number of EHOs would remain the same as it was before and would be hiring a new noise manager and noise officer as part of the overhaul.

Deputy leader Cllr Aicha Less said: “Preventing noise disruption is a top priority for the council and we are always looking at ways to improve the service for our residents and businesses.”