Report a noise nuisance

Complaints about excessive noise are investigated by officers who can take action if the noise is considered to be a statutory nuisance.

When is noise nuisance a statutory nuisance?

Noise nuisance is covered by Part III of the Environmental Protection Act 1990. This law empowers local authorities to deal with noise from fixed premises. Before action can be taken we have to be sure that the noise constitutes a statutory nuisance. This means that we have to prove that the noise is prejudicial to health and/or is causing an unreasonable and persistent disturbance to your lifestyle.

There are a number of different sources of noise pollution and therefore the service is categorised into the following:

Anchor Point:1Audible Intruder Alarms

Audible intruder alarms are widely used to protect property from unauthorised entry. Unfortunately they may be triggered by a fault in the system causing a noise problem for nearby neighbours, especially if it occurs frequently. Complaints are usually due to the duration of the alarm rather than to the actual volume.

Under the Control of Pollution (code of practice on noise from audible intruder alarms) Order 1982, all alarm systems should have an automatic cut out device fitted to the stop the alarm sounding after 20 minutes.

If you live within the Solihull area you should log details of reliable key holders to your premises with the Councils Environmental Protection Team. This is not a legal obligation.

No formal keyholder registration area has been designated for Solihull under the provisions in the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005, but voluntary registration can save time and expense if it goes off.

These details are kept on a confidential database and are only contacted if your alarm is reported as sounding. These details will not be passed to any third party without your consent

What do I do if an alarm is going off?

• If you suspect a false entry to the property contact the police immediately
• Talk to neighbours to see if there are any key-holders and when the owners are expected to return
• If the alarm continues after 20 minutes then contact Solihull Connect on 0121 704 8000. If the alarm is sounding outside working hours, then the matter can be reported to the council on the Emergency number given on 0121 704 8000. Environmental Health do not operate a 24/7 service.

We will check our database to see if a key-holder exists. If it does then we will contact them to disable the alarm.

If no details are available, or if the key holder is not available, and it is not known if the householders are due home soon then an officer will visit to assess the noise. If the alarm has been sounding continuously for more than 20 minutes or intermittently for more than one hour and is such that it is likely to give persons living or working in the vicinity reasonable cause for annoyance then the officer can enter the premises without force to silence the alarm. Any expenses reasonably incurred by us in connection with entering the premises , silencing the alarm , leaving a notice and securing the premises may be recoverable from the responsible person. Such expenses include the cost of steps taken to silence the alarm before the premises was entered and for the cost of calling an engineer. Administrative and court costs may also be claimed.
If the noise from the alarm is deemed to be a Statutory Nuisance then formal action will be taken by the officer.

This will involve the serving of a noise abatement notice under the provisions of the Environmental Protection Act 1990. If the notice is not complied with - i.e. sounder turned off within 20 minutes - the officer will arrange for an alarm company to disable the alarm from the outside. This may mean that the property is no longer covered by the alarm until reset.

Any costs incurred by the Council will be recovered from the owner. This could amount to several hundred pounds if over a Bank Holiday weekend. We would prefer not to take this kind of action and if alarm holders could register a key holder who could be contacted 24 hours this could save money and be less irritating to neighbours.

What can you do?

• Complete a keyholders form available from Environmental Protection with alternative key holders. This can also be downloaded from the Alarm registration form on the right
• Ensure your alarm has a 20-minute cut-out and is serviced on a regular basis
• When taking over an existing alarm have it serviced to ensure it is working correctly

Remember...

Your alarm is there to protect your property, but if the alarm sounds often it may be ignored and is therefore not doing its intended job

If we are unable to take your complaint forward or you wish to deal with the problem yourself you can make a complaint under section 82 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990.

Contact the Clerks to the Magistrates at your local court and explain that you wish to make a complaint under Section 80 of the above Act.

More and more homes are being fitted with audible alarms. It is not uncommon for an alarm to go off for no apparent reason or due to a faulty design, installation or incorrect use - often sounding for hours or even days at a time, which can be classed as a Statutory Nuisance.

The Government has produced a Code of Practice to try and reduce the incidence of nuisance caused by the ringing of these alarms. The alarm should be fitted with an automatic cut-out device, such a device would automatically stop the ringing after a period of 20 minutes from the activation of the system. The Code also says that the householder should inform the Local Authority of the installation of any alarm and the names and addresses of two key holders who should be well versed with operating and silencing the alarm at short notice.

Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council have gone a step further. If no one can be contacted to silence the alarm within a reasonable time scale and it is causing a Statutory Nuisance then they may serve a Noise Abatement Notice. If the occupier or keyholder is still unable to be contacted steps would then be taken to silence or disconnect the system by an engineer, with the cost of this being charged to the occupier.

You can register by downloading and completing an Alarm Registration Form on the right, details of which will be held on confidential data base or telephone 0121 704 8000 for more information.

Anchor Point:2Domestic Noise

What is a noise nuisance

Noise is generally regarded as unwanted sound. That means the noise could be:

• Too loud

• Too intrusive

• At the wrong time

• Repetitive bass beats

A noise is a nuisance when the effect of the noise materially affects your comfort or quality of life. The noise can be continuous or intermittent but your response to the noise must be wholly reasonable. Normal daytime noise would not generally be considered a nuisance and neither would normal noise, which is disturbing someone trying to sleep during the day. In addition it is important to note that the nuisance will be normally assessed from within your home.

Our Commitment to you

Your enquiry will be dealt with by professional staff, who have the correct skills and knowledge to assess noise complaints. They will adopt a fair and impartial approach based on case law.

A named officer will deal with your case who you can contact and seek advice from at every stage of the procedure.

We will explain the procedure to you at the start and discuss possible courses of action. Your identity will be kept confidential at all times but in some cases the other person may guess who has made the complaint and we will neither confirm nor deny any speculation. Our involvement could possibly aggravate neighbour relations.

In addition if the nuisance is proven we may need to take the matter to court and you may be needed to appear as a witness or provide a statement. If we cannot deal with the case or our investigations fail to produce an informal solution or sufficient evidence to take legal action, we will advise you of other possible courses of action available to you.

What can we deal with?

The main forms of noise nuisance that we can deal with are:

Domestic Noise, Barking Dogs, Loud Music, Car Alarms, DIY, Motor Repairs

Things we are unable to deal with include noisy behaviour in the street, noise from normal behaviour or occasional or one-off parties.

Our procedure.

Once a request has been received we will send you log sheets to complete with details of the nuisance and we will give you the name and contact number for the investigating officer.

These sheets need to be completed in as much detail as possible as they will help the officer decide whether the noise is a nuisance or not. In addition more detailed information on this part of the procedure will be sent to you.

If the nuisance persists you need to complete and return the log sheets. On receipt of these the investigating officer will contact you within 5 working days to discuss the complaint.

If the log sheets are not returned within 4 weeks we will send a reminder letter out to you asking for the return of the log sheets. If we do not receive anything within 2 weeks we will assume the problem was either temporary or has been resolved and we will take no further action. To download a Noise Record Form please choose the appropriate link on the right.

If the officer feels your records demonstrate that the noise could amount to a statutory nuisance they will contact you and discuss options for action. Noise equipment may be installed to monitor the levels, times and duration of the nuisance. The noise equipment must be placed inside your property and you will be asked to continue keeping the log sheets up to date.

We may decide to send a letter to the person causing the noise informing them of the problem, advising them of courses of action that we could take and the possibility of monitoring equipment being used. We may also visit them to seek an informal solution.

If there is evidence that a nuisance exists the authority will take formal action and serve an abatement notice, insisting that the nuisance stops.

Where we have investigated the complaint and have decided that a Statutory nuisance exists. The council can decide to defer issuing a statutory nuisance notice for up to 7 days whilst steps are taken to persuade the person on whom the notice would be served to abate the nuisance.

If the nuisance continues then the authority may prosecute the offender. We may possibly seize the equipment if the problem arises from amplified music. In this event you may be required to attend court as a witness.

What can you do?

If we are unable to take your complaint forward or you wish to deal with the problem yourself you can make a complaint under section 82 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990.

Contact the Clerks officer at your local Magistrates Court and explain that you wish to make a complaint under Section 82 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990.

Useful Contacts

If you wish to make a complaint regarding a noise nuisance you can contact Solihull Connect on 0121 704 8000. Solihull Connect  is open to callers if you wish to discuss a problem in person. There is a booklet published by DEFRA called Bothered by Noise which may be of use.

Out of Hours advice line

Tel: 0121 704 8000

Citizens Advice Bureau

Chelmsley Wood: 0121 779 6707
Solihull: 0121 705 2211

Housing Offices regarding Council Tenants

Tel: 0121 717 1515

Anchor Point:3Noise Abatement Zones

There are several Noise Abatement Zones covering commercial areas in the Borough. Noise levels from all commercial premises in these areas are registered. This acts as a sort of noise "speed limit" and there are powers to deal with businesses that exceed the registered levels, particularly when nearby domestic properties are affected.

Anchor Point:4Construction Work Noise

Noise from building works is dealt with differently. The law accepts that there can be a lot of noise from building sites that just cannot be helped. It therefore gives powers to limit hours of working for jobs that cause noise beyond the site boundary. The Council would usually suggest 8am to 6pm Monday to Friday, 8am to 1pm on Saturdays as suitable working hours, with no noisy works at all on Sundays or Bank Holidays. However, there are some situations where the Council would allow some flexibility with these hours, especially when there are health and safety or good road traffic reasons for doing so.

Anchor Point:5Aircraft noise

Aircraft noise is excluded from Part III of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, which means that we have no direct responsibility in relation to noise from aircraft departing or landing.

Other sources of Noise

The Council does have some powers to deal with noise in streets but they mainly limited to cover use of machinery. The Council does not have any jurisdiction on traffic, rail or aircraft noise.

See recent Noise Convictions