Noise

Noise we can help with:

• Barking dogs
• DIY
• Loud music
• Construction noise
• Factory noise
• Equipment noise
• Burglar alarms
• Motor repairs

Noise we can't help with:

• Children playing
• Noise associated with general living
• Day to day activities such as lawn-mowing, vacuuming, toilet flushing at reasonable hours
• Road traffic on the public highway
• Occasional or one-off parties
• Noisy behaviour in the street
• Fireworks
• Air traffic noise
• Emergency services sirens

When a complaint is made we will consider the duration, severity and likelihood of recurrence before a course of action is decided. In most cases you will be asked to complete a log sheet.

If the individual you're raising a concern about is a tenant of a social or private landlord, you should report the issue directly to their landlord so it can be investigated under their tenancy agreement.

Smoke

All smoke from residential, business and industrial premises is covered by statutory nuisance laws, unless they have an exemption. If you're being disturbed by a bonfire or smoke in your area, we always recommend that you try to resolve the problem informally first, before you contact us. We find most issues can be resolved informally without the need for our involvement.

Factors considered when assessing a smoke complaint include:

• Wind direction
• Time of year
• Time of day
• Type of Smoke
• How unreasonable the activity is

Under the Highways Act 1980, anyone lighting a fire and allowing smoke drift across a road may face a fine if it endangers traffic. In this scenario please contact the police.

Please see the "Odour" section below in relation to odours from tobacco and cannabis smoke.

Light

Light pollution or nuisance can be caused by security lights, car park lighting and floodlights.

Factors considered when assessing a light pollution complaint include:

• Use of light
• Direction of beam
• Power of bulb

If you are suffering a light nuisance from a neighbouring property, we would advise that you approach the neighbour in the first instance to see whether the bulb or the direction of the light can be changed.

Odour

We can only investigate odour nuisance when the source of the nuisance is from a commercial premises.

Factors considered when assessing an odour nuisance complaint include:

• Type of odour
• Strength of odour
• Weather conditions
• Character of the area

Please be aware that odour from tobacco, pipe, or cannabis smoke migrating between homes is excluded from statutory nuisance under the Environmental Protection Act 1990. Smoking in one's own home or garden is considered reasonable use and thus not actionable under statutory nuisance provisions.

Muck Spreading

Often, we receive odour complaints in periods of hot weather due to the agricultural practice of spreading bio-solids (sewage sludge), semi-liquid slurries and solid animal manures. Although the odour is unpleasant, the spreading of waste in agriculture is considered lawful practice and does not pose a threat to public health. If you have concerns about the legalities of the semi-solid material left over from the process of spreading, please note that the substance contains nutrients essential to plants and animal.

The Environmental Health team at Stratford-On-Avon District Council cannot investigate complaints in relation to agricultural muck spreading or related activities. Whilst we would encourage farmers to follow DEFRA's Codes of Good Agricultural Practice for the Protection of Water, Air and Soil (2009) in order to minimise the odour spreading to residential areas, this is a code of practice and is not enforced by ourselves.

How we investigate noise and nuisance complaints

When you report a noise or nuisance problem, we will look at the source of the complaint, how often it happens, how long it lasts, and whether it is likely to continue. This helps us decide if we may be able to take further action. We ask that all complaints are made honestly and in good faith. We may not investigate complaints that appear to be vexatious, retaliatory or unreasonable. We may also be unable to progress anonymous complaints.

Keeping a record

In most cases, we will ask you to complete a log sheet as the first step of the investigation. Usually we cannot progress an investigation without this stage since it provides important information and helps us understand:

• What is happening now and what times you hear it (We cannot take action on historical problems)
• how long it lasts
• how it affects you

Once you return your log, we will assess whether:

• the issue is within the legal scope we can investigate, and
• whether the frequency and duration of the issue may meet the legal threshold of a nuisance.

Gathering Evidence

If your complaint progresses, we may gather evidence using:

• Noise monitoring equipment
• approved noise apps or recordings
• visits from officers (which may on occasion be at unsociable hours)

What we need from you

Residents are best placed to provide the detailed, robust evidence required to support a case since you are living with the issue. You must therefore be prepared to provide the best evidence you can of the issue including how it affects you over a period of time. This includes:

• Allowing access for noise meter installation where appropriate
• Making accurate and genuine recordings on the noise app or other recording devices
• Being completely factual about events and how the problem is impacting day to day life and health
• Being prepared to provide a formal witness statement and to attend court as a witness if required to provide evidence under oath.

Without strong evidence that could stand up in court, it is unlikely we will be able to take successful formal action.

How decisions are made

The Council has a legal duty to decide whether a Statutory Nuisance exists or is likely to occur. This decision is based on legislation and case law and the opinion of trained professional officers.

For example not all noise problems can be considered a statutory nuisance for example:

• some level of everyday noise is expected, especially between neighbouring or attached properties and in flats
• we cannot take action on noise that is a normal part of living in a home, even where sound insulation is poor
• A clash of lifestyles including cultural differences or different working patterns

We understand that people have different tolerance levels, however, our decisions must be based on established legal tests. This means that that we may find that something that is an annoyance to some residents is not a Statutory Nuisance in our professional consideration.

What action can be taken

We find that many cases can be resolved without the need for court action and will always aim to resolve justified noise complaints through a graduated intervention approach in line with the Council's enforcement policy.

This may include:

• In-person advisory visits to the source of the noise
• Advisory and warning letters
• Service of notices under The Environmental Protection Act 1990 or Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014
• Prosecution

Log a Complaint

When logging a complaint please provide your name, address, telephone number, address of the alleged perpetrator and a description of the nuisance. The majority of nuisance complaints will initially receive a log sheet, please be aware that this will need to be completed over a minimum of a 2-4 week period and returned to the council. During this time an officer will begin initial investigations into the complaint.

Please note that in most cases we will not investigate anonymous complaints.

Please note that we may direct your complaint to another agency if they have primacy of investigation.

In cases where we have carried out the necessary procedures and feel that a statutory nuisance is not being caused you can take your own action under Section 82 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990.

It is important to note that when investigating a complaint, the council has to act within the constraints of the law and we can only take legal action where the law applies and where the necessary evidence exists.

• Email: envhealth@stratford-dc.gov.uk
• Telephone: 01789 267575
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