It provides information on the following areas:
- What is a noise nuisance
- Our commitment to you
- How we deal with noise nuisances
- What can you do
- Making a complaint
- Useful contacts
What is a noise nuisance?
Noise is generally regarded as unwanted sound. That means the noise could be:
- Too loud
- Too intrusive
- At the wrong time
- An unexpected/one-off incident
- Repetitive bass beats
- Screeches
- Whines
A noise nuisance occurs when the effect of the noise materially affects the comfort or quality of a life of a reasonable person. The noise can be continuous or intermittent but your response to the noise must be wholly reasonable. In addition it is important to note that the nuisance will be assessed from within your home.
Our Commitment to you
Your complaint will be dealt with by professional staff who have the correct skills and knowledge to assess noise complaints. They will adopt a fair and impartial approach.
A named officer will deal with your complaint, someone who you can contact and seek advice from at every stage of the procedure.
We will explain the procedure at the start and discuss possible courses of action with you.
Your complaint will be kept confidential at all times but in some cases it may be obvious to the subject who has made the complaint. In addition, if the nuisance is proven, we may need to take the matter to court and you may be needed to appear as a witness or provide a statement.
What can we deal with?
The main forms of noise nuisance that we can deal with are:
- Domestic Noise
- Intruder Alarms
- Barking Dogs
- Loud Music
- Car Alarms
- DIY
- Motor Repairs
Our complaint procedure
Once a noise enquiry has been received we will send you log sheets to complete with details of the nuisance and we will give you the name and contact number of the investigating officer.
These sheets need to be completed in as much detail as possible as they will help the officer decide whether the noise may be a nuisance or not. In addition information on the procedure will be sent to you.
We may offer to send a letter to the subject of your complaint informing them of the problem, advising them of courses of action that could be taken and the possibility of monitoring equipment being used.
If the nuisance persists you will need to complete and return the log sheets. On receipt of these the investigating officer will contact you within 5 days to discuss your complaint.
If the log sheets are not returned within 4 weeks we will send a reminder letter inviting you to return completed log sheets. If we do not receive anything within the following 2 weeks we will assume that the problem was either temporary or has been resolved and the case will be closed.
If the officer feels that there is a statutory nuisance they will contact you and discuss options for action. Noise recording equipment may be installed to monitor the levels, times and duration of the noise. The monitoring equipment must be placed inside your property.
If there is evidence that a nuisance exists the authority will take formal action and serve an abatement notice, to request that the nuisance stops.
If the nuisance continues then the authority may go to court and seek to prosecute the subject and possibly seize the equipment. In these events you may be required to attend court as a witness.
What can you do?
If we are unable to take your complaint forward or you wish to deal with the problem yourself you can can take private action under section 82 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990.
Industrial and Commercial Noise
If you need help regarding noise pollution coming from industrial and commercial properties, see Industrial and Commercial Noise.
