Environment and Planning >> Environmental Protection
Noise
This page contains the following information about noise:
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If Noise is a problem.
Are you being driven mad by persistent loud music from a neighbour?
Is someone carrying out noisy DIY work late at night or early in the morning?
Is there a noisy pub, shop, building site, factory, fixed plant or machinery nearby?
If so don't suffer in silence - there are steps you can take to get it stopped.
The first thing to do is to speak to the person causing the noise. In most cases, if you ask politely, they will stop and your problem will be solved. But if this does not work and your requests to stop causing noise nuisance fail, you can:
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Reporting Noise
We can help you.
Please use our Contact Information to report problems with noise.
What we do:
- Offer advice on possible actions to deal with your problem
- Keep your details confidential, unless legally required to divulge them
- Write to the person causing the problem
- Write to you and ask you to keep a diary record of the problem
- Use noise monitoring/recording equipment where necessary
- Provide specialist advice on matters such as sound insulation
- Deal with urgent noise complaints such as intruder alarms on the same day
- Refer you to the Hastings and Rother Citizens Advice Bureau Mediation Service if we are unable to help.
- Consider legal action against those persons who continue to be unreasonable.
The Council has a legal duty to investigate all noise complaints it receives. If a statutory noise nuisance is witnessed, the Council has a duty to serve a Noise Abatement Notice. This is a legal document. If a person does not comply with the Notice they could go to Court.
What is a statutory nuisance?
There are no legally defined limits on acceptable times, durations or sound levels, although these factors will be taken into account when making a judgement. The following points give some guidance:
- The noise problem must be considerable. To some people, anything that disturbs or annoys them is thought of as a nuisance. However for legal action a nuisance needs to be more than an annoyance.
- No account can be taken of particular sensitivities, problems of life-style of the complainant.
- Isolated acts cannot usually be taken into account; the nuisance needs to be regularly recurring.
- The Council (and ultimately the Court) has to be satisfied that the problem is an unreasonable and substantial interference with the enjoyment of your property.
When assessing whether a statutory nuisance exists, we will look at:
- The type of noise
- The type of day or night it happens
- How long it goes on for
- How often it happens
- How loud it is
- Whether it has any particular tones or hums
- How it affects you in your home
How we will deal your Noise Complaint
- When you make a complaint about noise we will respond within 4 working days
- We will let the person concerned know that a complaint has been made and inform him/her about the Council's powers for dealing with noise nuisance. In many cases this will solve the problem.
- We will let you know that your enquiry is being dealt with and may ask you to keep a diary for a two-week period. This diary should show the type of noise, when it starts and stops and how it affects you.
- Forward your diary with details of noise nuisance to us, we will then assess it to see if we are able to take further action.
- If it appears that we will be able to help, we will either ask you to call an officer out to witness the nuisance during the day or, put you on our 'out of hours' call out service which means an officer can call to listen to the noise even if it is late at night or at weekends. We will give you a reference number to quote in this case. If you do not have this number we will not visit you outside normal working hours but will take action on the next working day.
- Once we have heard and assessed the noise and are satisfied that a 'statutory nuisance' exists or is likely to exist, we can issue a notice under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 to try to stop the noise from continuing.
- If the notice is not complied with and the noise continues we must witness the nuisance again so that we can take legal action. This can result in a fine of as much as £20,000.
- In the case of persistent noise problems we have the power to seize noise-making equipment (eg amplifies, speakers etc) after obtaining a warrant from the Magistrates Court.
We have to deal with noise in these ways because in some cases it can take time to collect evidence of noise nuisance, especially when it is irregular or unpredictable. If a case is to succeed in Court we must make sure we have enough proof, which can take time to build up. When we are unable to assess the noise we will let you know so that you can take action yourself.
Reporting noise to the Police
The Police cannot deal directly with noise nuisance. If you experience noise nuisance likely to cause a breach of the peace (eg a noisy party spilling onto the street with the risk of violence or damage to property) then the Police will be able to intervene.
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Magistrates Court Orders
Where we are unable to help, you can ask the Magistrates Court to make an order against the person causing the noise. Here's what you should do:
- Write down a description of the noise and where it's coming from. Keep a record of your complaints about the noise, noting how often the noise is a problem and how long it lasts, and when you asked them to stop. In this diary also write down in detail how the noise affects you, for example if it keeps you awake or makes it difficult to hear the TV or radio. This diary should be kept up to the time of your court hearing.
- Find out if any of your other neighbours are also being disturbed and if they would be prepared to act as witnesses for you. Any independent witnesses will help you case. You must know the full name and address of the person causing the noise.
- It would be a good idea for you to hire a solicitor to help you with your case.
- The person allegedly causing you nuisance needs to be notified in writing of your intention to seek a court order.
Procedure in the Magistrates Court:
- You will need to go to the Court and collect a summons under Section 82 of the Environmental Protection act and explain your reasons to the Magistrate.
- If the Magistrate agrees that the summons is justified, a Police Officer will take your details and the Court office will issue a summons.
- If the defendant (the person causing the noise) appears and pleads guilty you need only outline details of the case. The Court will then make an order to stop the noise.
- If the defendant pleads not guilty, you will have to give a detailed account under oath and call your witnesses. You have the right to question the defendants witnesses.
- If the Court decides in your favour, it will make an order to stop the noise and if this is ignored, further Court action may be necessary. If you are unsuccessful, you may have to pay the defendant's costs.
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Don't be a Noisy Neighbour
- Think about your neighbours
- Keep all noise to a reasonable level, especially the volume of your stereo, radio or TV
- Tell your neighbours if you are going to have a party
- Carry out your DIY at a reasonable time - don't drill or hammer late into the evening
- Use noisy appliances such as vacuum cleaners and washing machines at a reasonable time
- Train your dog not to bark excessively and do not leave it alone for long periods
You should also ensure that your intruder alarm is regularly serviced, has a 20-minute cut out and that is registered with 'Peace for a Pound' - a national service who can be contacted on 0870 870 5388 or via their website: www.peaceforapound.com. They offer a service that means you can be contacted by the Police if your alarm is sounding.
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Dealing with Barking Dogs
Obviously barking comes naturally to dogs, but the constant barking or whining of a dog can be disturbing or annoying for your neighbours. Complaints about barking often arise because dogs are left at home alone while their owners are out for most of the day. A dog will not usually bark while its owner is at home, but will start as soon as they leave. The owners are often unaware that a problem exists until someone makes a complaint.
Why dogs bark
Persistent barking means something is making the dog unhappy. It could be distressed, afraid or bored. There are many reasons why a dog may bark.
- Loneliness
- Boredom or frustration
- Attention seeking
- Defending its territory
- Medical problems - the dog could be ill
How can we help?
A barking dog can be considered a statutory noise nuisance and we can serve a noise abatement notice on the owner if nothing is done to stop persistent barking. If you are disturbed by a neighbour's dog, tell them about the problem as they may not know that their dog is barking when they are absent. If they are not prepared to take action, we will try to solve the problem informally at first.
We will look at the following to assess whether the problem is a statutory nuisance.
- The time of day or night the dog is barking
- How long it goes on for
- How often it happens
Occasional barking that might happen, for example, when the postman calls or when the doorbell rings will not normally be considered a statutory noise nuisance.
What you can do for your dog
If you have to leave your dog for long periods and have no-one who can look in on your dog:
- Feed and exercise it before you go out and leave it fresh water
- Make sure its bed or basket is comfortable and leave them their favourite toys
- Check that the room is not hot or cold and that there is enough fresh air
- Leave a light on if you are not coming back until after dark
- Leave a radio on low so the dog can hear a human voice
- If you keep your dog outside, do not put a kennel near your neighbour's fence
Sometimes, a dog will bark if it is ill. You should take your dog to see a vet if barking is out of character.
Advice
You can use an 'anti-bark' collar to train a dog to stop barking in a short period of time. The collar is activated by the dog barking and releases a spray of citrus mist under the dog's nose. This is harmless to dogs and humans, but it is enough to distract the dog and prevent it from barking.
It is more important to find out why your dog is barking. Once you have done this, you can look for a permanent solution to the problem.
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This page last updated: 28/07/2008
