Noisy neighbours

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The Public Protection Department has powers to take action where there is regular disturbance caused by noise. Typically an investigation will involve an officer visiting both parties to establish the facts of the complaint.

If the problem persists then complainants will be asked to monitor the frequency of the nuisance to see if it can be classed as ‘regular and frequent’. A Public Protection Officer will attempt to witness the noise to determine whether it can be classed as a statutory nuisance. This may be done electronically using noise monitoring equipment. If nuisance is proved an officer may then serve a notice requiring the abatement of the noise.

For a notice to be served the person making the complaint must be identified on the notice.

If this notice is breached the department may take legal action that can result in a £5,000 fine and seizure of any music equipment.

There are circumstances where an officer may serve notice with immediate effect but these are rare. Such action would generally involve large events such as illegal ‘raves’. Any such action would generally involve the police and be related to Public Order offences.

DIY noise

Persons carrying out DIY work that may cause disturbance are advised to speak to their neighbours prior to starting work. We recommend that any noisy or dusty work is restricted to the normal working hours of 0800 to 1800 on weekdays and 0900 to 1300 on Saturdays.

There is no daytime restriction to protect people who work irregular hours or shift workers.

Barking dogs

Complaints about barking dogs will be dealt with by our Animal Welfare officer. Dogs tend to bark when lonely and/or bored. It is good practice to ensure that animals are not left unattended all day but are walked in the middle of the day. When the animal is on its own in the house try leaving a radio on quietly to provide a source of human voices. Dogs should also be left some toys to play with/chew on; this also reduces damage to the furniture.

How we deal with noise complaints

All complaints are dealt with and investigated in an unbiased manner. There is no favour given to either the complainant or the subject.

The nuisance must be regular and frequent; this is usually defined as at least once a week and occurring over several weeks. One-off events are not covered unless they affect a large number of people, i.e. a rave.

The issue must be a nuisance, i.e. substantially affect the complainant's enjoyment of their property. The fact that the complainant may hear their neighbour's activities does not automatically make it a nuisance.

An officer will not tell the subject who has complained, anonymity cannot be guaranteed.

The complainant may be asked to complete a monitoring log to assess the frequency and impact of the alleged nuisance.

For statutory nuisance to be proven it must be witnessed by an officer, or a DAT recorder may be used to allow the complainant to tape evidence of noise nuisance. DAT tapes and associated noise meter readings are admissible as evidence in Court.

If statutory nuisance is proven, then a notice may be served on the subject and legal action taken against them in court. If this occurs, the complainant should be advised of this and their willingness to be involved in such action be recorded. If they are unwilling to be identified for legal purposes, then the department can only carry out informal action against the subject which may not fully resolve the complaint.

Last updated: 18 March 2011