Noise Pollution
General
Noise is generally regarded as "unwanted sound". Every day we experience different types of noise and most of the time we are not disturbed by it. However, sometimes it can be too loud, unwanted or just happen at the wrong time or without warning.
The term "Noise Nuisance" is used in law and means noise which affects the enjoyment of your home to a level which is not accepted by most people, for example, you cannot sleep at night or cannot hear your television over the unwanted noise.
Commerical Noise
Domestic Noise
The term "Noise Nuisance" is used in law and means noise which affects the enjoyment of your home to a level which is not accepted by most people, for example, you cannot sleep at night or cannot hear your television over the unwanted noise.
Commerical Noise
Domestic Noise
What to do if you are bothered by noise
Ask yourself the following questions:
- are you being reasonable? we all have to put up with some noise, even in the countryside.
- is the person aware they are causing a nuisance?
- is this a one-off event?
- is the problem due to poor sound insulation?
What if I still feel the noise is unreasonable?
- first, speak to the person responsible - they may not be aware of the problem.
- write to the person responsible and ask them politely to reduce the noise - keep a copy of the letter.
- If the problem persists, and all else fails you can contact Environmental Health for more advice. Tel: (01249) 706555 or email:ehealth@northwilts.gov.uk
How can the Council help me?
Noise nuisance is covered by the Environmental Protection Act 1990. This law empowers local authorities to deal with noise from fixed premises. Before any action can be taken an officer from the Environmental Health Team must be satisfied that the noise constitutes a Statutory Nuisance. This means that we must be able to prove that the noise is prejudicial to health or sufficiently severe and/or frequent to cause an unreasonable disturbance to your lifestyle.
If an officer is satisfied that a Statutory Nuisance does exist then the council will serve a Noise Abatement Notice, formally requiring the noise nuisance to stop. Subsequently, if the council is able to gather sufficient evidence that such a notice has not been complied with, we will consider whether it is appropriate to prosecute the person(s) on whom the notice was served. Prosecution would take place in a Magistrates Court and if found guilty a person could be fined up to £20 000.
In extreme cases, the Council can apply to the Court for a Warrant to enter premises to confiscate equipment causing noise nuisance. In the case of car or building burglar alarms, the Council has the power to disable the alarm, and to recover their costs from the owner.
If you would rather instruct a private Noise Consultant to carry out investigations, please see the attached list of consultants, without prejudice, by clicking on the link below. This document is in Word format:-
Noise Consultants.doc (Microsoft Word 28Kb)
If an officer is satisfied that a Statutory Nuisance does exist then the council will serve a Noise Abatement Notice, formally requiring the noise nuisance to stop. Subsequently, if the council is able to gather sufficient evidence that such a notice has not been complied with, we will consider whether it is appropriate to prosecute the person(s) on whom the notice was served. Prosecution would take place in a Magistrates Court and if found guilty a person could be fined up to £20 000.
In extreme cases, the Council can apply to the Court for a Warrant to enter premises to confiscate equipment causing noise nuisance. In the case of car or building burglar alarms, the Council has the power to disable the alarm, and to recover their costs from the owner.
If you would rather instruct a private Noise Consultant to carry out investigations, please see the attached list of consultants, without prejudice, by clicking on the link below. This document is in Word format:-
Noise Consultants.doc (Microsoft Word 28Kb)
Emergency Out of Hours Service
Environmental Health do not provide an out of hours service - but we do provide an emergency service.
What is covered by the emergency service?
The service is there to deal with; a major food poisoning/infectious disease outbreak, a serious health and safety accident where a fatality or major injury has occurred, a serious pollution incident and some types of noise complaints. It is not there to deal with non-urgent or ongoing environmental health complaints e.g. barking dogs, pest complaints, smoky bonfires and non collection of refuse. Out of hours an Officer would respond to any Environmental Health complaint where 3 or more individual residents from different householes have a complaint about an Environmental Health issue.
How do I use this service?
Just ring the normal Council number (01249 706111) and follow the procedure. If it is an emergency you will be put through to the Council's complaints service 0845 ...... If your complaint is not classed as an emergency complaint you will be advised and your complaint will be logged and dealt with by the Environmental Health Team on the next working day. If you wish to discuss your complaint the contact telephone number is 01249 706555 and you will be advised of the Officer assigned to your complaint. If it is classed as an emergency it will be logged and an Officer will contact you about your complaint.
Please remember only emergency complaints are dealt with out of hours.
Please remember only emergency complaints are dealt with out of hours.
What types of noise complaints will you respond to outside of normal Council working hours?
- Ongoing noise complaints are dealt with by Officers as part of normal duties and visits will be arranged outside of normal hours to investigate such matters. These are not part of the emergency service.
- We will however respond to a complaint where:
- 3 or more individual residents from different households have complained about a noise nuisance, or
- At the request of a Senior Police Officer who is present at a situation where noise is giving rise to serious complaint, or
- 3 or more individual residents from different households have complaints about a noise party. But remember a party once or twice a year is perhaps not unreasonable, a party every week would be unreasonable.
How quickly will you respond out of hours?
- Officers on standby are not at work in the offices they are going about their normal lives. You will receive a telephone call about your complaint normally within about 15 minutes.
- If we need to visit, the Officer will give you an indication of estimated time of arrival. The minimum time is likely to be at least one hour and depends very much on where you live.
Environmental Services - Contact Details
Environmental Services
Monkton Park
Chippenham
Wiltshire
SN15 1ER
Tel: 01249 706555
Fax: 01249 443943
Email: ehealth@northwilts.gov.uk
Monkton Park
Chippenham
Wiltshire
SN15 1ER
Tel: 01249 706555
Fax: 01249 443943
Email: ehealth@northwilts.gov.uk
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