Nuisance can be described as an act that causes unreasonable disturbance to the use and enjoyment of ones property (e.g. regular intrusive loud music from a neighbouring property). The most common noise problems are caused by barking dogs, loud music or television, shouting, banging doors and DIY activities.
It is a common myth that noise levels are controlled by the time of day. Many people believe that they can play loud music all day, as long as they turn it down at 11pm. This is totally untrue. There are no set times or levels which determine whether noise is causing a statutory nuisance.
Officers will use their professional judgement when investigating an alleged noise nuisance to decide whether the offending noise is causing an unreasonable disturbance to the use and enjoyment of the complainant's property.
The pdf document below provides further information and advice on noise related problems.
Noise Booklet (pdf 167kb opens in new window)
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You may be able to resolve the issue by talking to your neighbour to make them aware of the problem.
However, if you want to complain to the council about a noise problem, so we can investigate further, you can report noise pollution online (opens in new window). Emergencies can be reported by calling us on (01482) 396301, during normal office hours (8:30am - 5:30pm Monday - Friday), providing details of your complaint. We will respond to urgent complaints within 24 hours, and to all other complaints within 5 working days. If you write to us, we will provide a written response within 10 working days.
We have to write to the subject of the complaint to inform them that an allegation of causing a noise nuisance has been made against them. We will of course keep your details confidential. Sometimes this initial letter is enough to resolve the problem. However we will usually still ask you to keep a diary of the noise problem for a couple of weeks, and then return it to us signed. This will help us determine when its occurring and for how long. We will send you the diary sheets after we have discussed the problem with you. Please note that any diaries kept before you contact the council may not be able to form part of our investigation. If necessary the council may decide to install sound recording equipment in your property to obtain further evidence of the noise (this will not be done if the only noise is from barking dogs).
More information on how we investigate a noise nuisance is available in the following pdf document:
Noise Booklet (pdf 167kb opens in new window)
You can also view a copy of the council's enforcement policy.
Please note: for reporting emergencies outside of normal office hours, for example a misfiring intruder alarm, please contact our customer call centre directly on (01482) 393939.
Barking dogs
Read more about barking dogs, and how to report them to the council.
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If officers determine that the noise complained of is a statutory nuisance and the person responsible has not responded to us then legal action will be taken against him/her or the company concerned. This will be in the form of an Abatement
Notice requiring the nuisance to be abated within a specified time period. It is a criminal offence not to comply with an Abatement Notice, and anyone found guilty can be prosecuted and fined.
Additionally, the council has powers to obtain a warrant and seize noise making equipment eg hi-fi's and TV's when other action fails to resolve a nuisance. Works in default may also be carried out to abate a nuisance, particularly in cases such as misfiring alarms where a keyholder cannot be traced. All costs incurred while undertaking works in default will be reclaimed from the person upon whom the notice was served.
You can view a copy of the council's enforcement policy.
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Unfortunately we cannot usually investigate anonymous complaints. To prove a statutory nuisance exists, the council will need to investigate the complaints at your property. The complainant will also be expected to keep a diary of noise problems suffered and to provide a statement of witness or attend court should formal action be necessary. For this reason anonymous complaints will generally not be investigated.
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We have produced the following useful guidance documents as pdf's, giving advice on how to minimise disturbance to neighbours. These might be useful for farmers or building contractors, as well as the general public:
Guidance to farmers on the use of bird scarers (pdf 434kb opens in new window)
Good practice guide for contractors (pdf 80kb opens in new window)
Controlling noise from cockerels (pdf 53kb opens in new window)
Contact details for aircraft noise (pdf 22 kb opens in new window)
Environmental Protection UK (EPUK) fireworks leaflet (pdf 201kb opens in new window)
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Alarms should be fitted with an automatic cut-off device, so that they stop ringing after 20 minutes. However, they can often misfire and are a common cause of noise complaints.
It is a good idea to make sure that a neighbour or someone close by has access to your property and can deactivate the alarm (i.e. a keyholder) in the event your alarm misfires while you are away. This will avoid the need for the council to take formal action to silence an alarm if it is causing a statutory noise nuisance. In such cases the council can recharge the cost incurred to the homeowner.
You can register keyholder details online (opens in new window), so that we can contact them if you are not available, should we receive a complaint about your alarm misfiring. You do not need to tell us the deactivation code, or provide a key, just the details of someone who has them.
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If you are proposing a potentially noisy development such as an industrial site or certain leisure activities near to noise sensitive buildings, such as homes or schools, then you may need to carry out a noise assessment as part of your application. Similarly, if you are proposing a noise sensitive development near to an existing source of noise, this will also need to be assessed.
The National Planning Policy Framework requires planning policies and decisions to:
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avoid noise giving rise to significant adverse impacts on health and quality of life as a result of new development;
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mitigate and reduce to a minimum other adverse impacts on health and quality of life arising from noise from new development, including through the use of conditions;
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recognise that development will often create some noise and existing businesses wanting to develop in continuance of their business should not have unreasonable restrictions put on them because of changes in nearby land uses since they were established; and
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identify and protect areas of tranquillity which have remained relatively undisturbed by noise and are prized for their recreational and amenity value for this reason.
The National Planning Policy Framework is available on the Government's planning website.
Gov.uk - National Planning Policy Framework (external website)
The following guidance document on planning and noise has been formally withdrawn following publication of the NPPF, however it still provides a useful reference for applicants and their agents.
Planning Policy Guidance 24 - Planning and noise (pdf 352 kb opens in new window)
You are advised to seek specialist advice from a noise consultant when preparing a planning application which could fall into the above scenarios. More information on noise consultants and noise assessments can be found on the Institute of Acoustics website and the Association of Noise Consultants website.
Institute of Acoustics (external website)
Association of Noise Consultants (external website)
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