Jump to: Someoneone has complained about me
Someone Experiencing an Environmental Protection Nuisance
Questions
- What is the best way to report a nuisance?
- Can I email you a complaint?
- Why don’t you take anonymous calls?
- Will you tell the neighbour who has made a complaint?
- What if it’s happening out of office hours?
- Do you have any advice on dealing with neighbour disputes?
- When will I hear from you?
- Can you come out straight away?
- I have received a Council letter and log sheets, what will happen next?
- Why do I have to complete log sheets?
- What is a reasonable amount of noise?
- What is a Statutory Nuisance?
- How long will it take to deal with my problem?
Someone Experiencing an Environmental Protection Nuisance
Answers
- If you have already approached your neighbour, but feel that you now need to report it to the Council, the best way to do this is to speak directly to an Environmental Health Officer. Phone 01225 477551. By calling us direct, we will be able to discuss the matter fully and answer any questions you may have straight away. This will speed up the initial investigation process. Our office hours are 8.30am to 5.00pm Monday to Thursday, and 8.30am to 4.30pm on Friday
- There may be times when you wish to email us about an issue, perhaps with some photographic evidence. Our email address for this purpose is: environmental_protection@bathnes.gov.uk. An Environmental Health Officer will respond to you within 2 working days of receipt of the email. Please be aware that we will need to contact you before we begin an investigation and that we will need the following information:
- Your name, address and if possible contact telephone number(s)
- The address you are complaining about and the type of nuisance (e.g. loud music, a barking dog, an extractor fan etc.)
- When and for how long the nuisance normally occurs
- The way the nuisance affects you e.g. prevents sleep
We do not accept anonymous complaints.
3. We do not take anonymous calls because our investigation rests on the impact it has on you. If you do not provide us with details of whom or where you are, we won’t be able to assess how you are being affected. Also, we won’t be able to contact you regarding progression or if we need further information.
4. We will make contact with the neighbour that you are complaining about so you should be prepared for us to do this if you want us to investigate. We do not let the neighbour know who has made the complaint, however sometimes they may be able to guess due to your locality and the nature of the complaint. If the investigation progresses to legal action, then your details will be known.
5. If it is happening out of office hours then we would advise you to ring the next working day on 01225 47755 41 during office hours and speak to an Environmental Health Officer. If you prefer you can leave a message with the Out of Hours Service which is 01225 477 477. This is a message taking service only. Your message will be passed to an Environmental Officer the following working day and you can expect a call within 2 working days.
Please note, we do not offer a reactive service to nuisances happening out of office hours. This is a logging service only.
6. Further information regarding dealing with a complaint yourself can be found on our webpages depending on the nature of the complaint. Our Noise Toolkit has lots of ideas on how to deal with a problem. Click on Environmental Protection to go to the list of nuisances we investigate
7. We aim to contact you within 2 working days of your first contact. After this, the Environmental Health Officer will tell you about what will happen next and when to expect further contact.
8. Due to limited resources we do not have a reactive service to allow us to come out straight away.
9. Now that you have received a letter and log sheets, you will need to complete these as per the instructions. Once completed for 14 days, they should be sent back to the officer dealing with your case. They will then assess the information recorded to determine whether in their expert opinion, that a statutory nuisance is taking place. They will then contact you to discuss their findings. The next course of action may involve installing noise recording equipment so that they can gather further evidence to support the investigation.
10. By completing the log sheets/diary you will be assisting the Environmental Health Officer with their investigation. The log sheets will be a useful indicator of the severity of the problem and whether there are any patterns of behaviour. The Officer will then be able to determine the best course of action. Further information on the investigation process can be found here How we investigate
11. There are no defined limits to the amount of noise with regard to the law. A Nuisance, in terms of its use under the Environmental Protection Act 1990, is defined as: 'An unreasonable and significant emission of noise that causes significant and unreasonable interference with the use and enjoyment of your premises'.
With this in mind, an Environmental Health Officer will assess whether noise is happening at unreasonable times and is excessive in duration and volume.
12. A Statutory Nuisance is defined in law by the Environmental Protection Act 1990 as being ‘Any premises in such a state as to be prejudicial to health or a nuisance.’ Further information can be found here Statutory Nuisance.
13. This is dependent on how quickly evidence can be gathered, we cannot be precise on how long an investigation will take as this varies on a case by case basis.
Someone Has Complained About Me
Questions
- Why have I received this letter?
- How can the council accuse me when they have not heard the noise?
- What happens next?
- I have received a noise abatement notice, what should I do?
- Can I play my music louder at certain times of day?
- Can I agree times and levels that I play my music?
- Where can I get further information?
Someone Has Complained About Me
Answers
- Bath and North East Somerset Council, have received a complaint from someone in the area who is concerned about a nuisance e.g. noise they believe is coming from your premises. If this is the case, we are taking this opportunity to alert you that there is a problem and give you the opportunity to hopefully resolve the issue.
- At this stage we are not accusing you of making the noise, we are simply drawing your attention to the fact that we have received a complaint that may or may not involve you or your property.
- Receiving this letter, gives you the opportunity to reflect on any instances when you or your family, may have created unreasonable noise and what measures you could take to prevent a recurrence.If we do not receive further complaints, then nothing more will happen and the case will be closed.If we do receive further complaints, and the investigating Environmental Health Officer considers that there should be further investigation, then we may install noise monitoring equipment to record the events being complained of. The purpose of this is to gather evidence to establish whether or not the noise from your premises is unreasonable and constitutes a statutory nuisance. If the noise is considered to be a statutory nuisance, then the council is legally obliged to serve a noise abatement notice, normally on the person responsible for making the noise.
- If you have received a noise abatement notice, it means that the Environmental Health Officer, who served it, considers there is a serious problem in relation to noise coming from your property and you need to take action to stop it. Please read carefully, the contents of the notice and comply with the requirements within the timescales. You have a right to appeal to the magistrate’s court within 21 days of service of the notice. Details of how to appeal are outlined in the notes contained with the notice.
- The law with regard to noise nuisance does not specify times where you can play music louder. Neither does it define an acceptable level at which music can be played. The concept of noise nuisance is based on reasonableness and being a good neighbour. Consideration should be given to what effect your music may have on others. For example, playing your music loud during the night, you will disturb your neighbour which is unreasonable and regarded as a noise nuisance.
- Yes – The best way to deal with a problem is to talk with your neighbours. However we realise that in some circumstances this may not be possible. Where it is possible, you may be able to come to some kind of agreement with regard to best times to play music and agreeing acceptable volume levels. However, bear in mind that setting levels has its limitations as the levels vary from different sources of music, but it may provide a basis for reaching a compromise.
- Further information can be found on the following websites:
How to resolve neighbour disputes