Sometimes noise
from a property can cause disturbance to other people. The
Environmental Protection Team at Forest Heath District Council can
help with noise problems.
Contact
Us
For more information please contact the Environmental Protection
Team on:
Tel: 01638 719733 Fax: 01638 719357
Email:
enviroprotection@forest-heath.gov.uk
Post: Environmental Services, District Offices, College Heath Road,
Mildenhall, Suffolk, IP28 7EY
Who
can help with what?
We can help with noise emanating from:
- Domestic properties (eg. loud music, banging, alarms, contantly
barking dogs)
- Industrial premises (eg. loud machinery and equipment)
- Construction sites (eg. generators, diggers)
- Some vehicles or equipment in the street (eg. car alarms,
speakers in street)
- Pubs and clubs (eg music)
We cannot help with
noise from:
- A one-off party
- Daytime use of lawnmowers
- Crying babies
- Dogs barking occasionally
- People walking or congregating in the street
Other
authorities should be able to assist with the following
noises:
- Military aircraft– contact RAF Mildenhall 01638 542097 or RAF
Lakenheath 01638 521945
- Civil aircraft– contact airport concerned
- Microlight aircraft – contact Civil Aviation Authority 01293
563540
- Motor vehichles on highway (horns, revving, exhausts) – contact
The Police
Step By Step Guide
– What to do if you are bothered by noise.
1. If you are being bothered by noise you could
approach the person responsible and ask them if they can do
something to control the noise. Often people do not realise that
they are causing a noise problem, so this informal approach may
well resolve the problem. However, this direct approach may not
always be practicable - you do not have to do this.
2. You
can contact the Environmental Protection
Team and although your details will be kept confidential,
we will inform the person causing the problem that we have
received a complaint.
3. On
receipt of your complaint we will write to you within 3 working
days and inform the other person that a complaint has been received
about noise from their property and advise them to control the
levels of noise. This will usually resolve complaint without any
further action being taken.
4. If
this informal approach has failed we shall provide you with
Noise Survey Forms. You can use these if you
continue to be bothered by the noise after the initial informal
approaches have been made. Use these forms to keep a written
record of the times you are disturbed. You will be able to refer
to these records at a later date if we ask for you to provide a
written statement relating to your complaint.
5. Once
we have received completed Noise Survey Forms from you, an officer
will visit in an attempt to witness the problem. We shall inform
you of the progress of your complaint throughout our investigation.
You can contact the investigating officer to discuss your
complaint.
6. We act
impartially when investigating statutory nuisance noise complaints.
If during our investigation unacceptable noise levels are witnessed
causing a statutory nuisance, an abatement notice may be served on
the person responsible. The notice requires them to abate the
nuisance.
7. If a
statutory noise nuisance continues after a notice has been served,
the Council can consider further enforcement action, including
prosecution proceedings.
If you are being bothered by noise during normal working
hours (8.30am to 5pm during Mondays to Thursdays and 8.30am to
4.30pm on Friday) please do not hesitate to contact
the Environmental Protection Team and an officer
will attempt to make a visit to witness the problem.
If the problem occurs outside these times liaise with the
investigating officer to try and arrange for them to visit at a
time when the noise may occur. At this time Forest Heath does
not have a formal out of hours service for dealing with nuisance
complaints.
FAQ’s
Q. I am being bothered by noise. What can I do?
A. See
‘step by step guide’ above.
Q. A car/house alarm is sounding. Can you help?
A. House
alarms and car alarms should be fitted with a 20 minute and 20
second automatic cut-off systems, respectively. If the alarm
continues to sound we can attempt to contact the owner so that the
problem can be resolved quickly and efficiently. If the
investigating officer confirms that the alarm is causing a
statutory nuisance and the owner cannot be contacted, an abatement
notice can be served. The Council may use an electrical engineer
or, if necessary, obtain a warrant to enter the premises in
order to silence the alarm. The owner (or person responsible for
the nuisance) will be charged for all the costs involved in abating
the nuisance.
Q. I am being bothered by noise but do not want my details known to
the source of the problem. What can I do?
A. Although we
will ask you for your details, these will be kept confidentially,
and will not be passed on to the source of the problem.
However, if enforcement proceedings lead to a court
case you would need to make a formal witness statement, where
your name must be stated.
Q. Is there a set level at which a noise becomes
unacceptable?
A. No. It is entirely dependent on
the specific situation. For example, in some circumstances a level
of 50dBA may be classified as a statutory nuisance, but in other
circumstances that level may be perfectly acceptable. The
judgment as to whether a noise has become a 'statutory nuisance' is
down to the investigating officer.
Q. Is Forest Heath District Council really prepared to help me? My
noisy neighbour is not a pleasant character to deal with and I fear
things may not go smoothly.
A. Yes. We take
persistent statutory noise nuisance very seriously indeed.
Breaching noise abatement notices has resulted in legal
action, fines, issuing of ASBO’s, and seizure of noise making
equipment, on more than one occasion in the last year.
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