Tag: noise complaints

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Gosport bar owner fined £10,000 over ‘thudding’ noise complaints

Ben Bartrip outside of The Victualler.''Picture: Will Rooney

Ben Bartrip outside of The Victualler.”Picture: Will Rooney

Source: The News.

Ben Bartrip, owner of The Victualler Harbourside Bar & Restaurant in Royal Clarence Yard, Gosport, was this week found guilty. Magistrates fined him £1,000 for each charge, and ordered him to pay £6,026.25 prosecution costs to the council – as well as a £100 victim surcharge.

The news comes after Bartrip’s company 88 75 Ltd, of Weevil Lane, was fined £20,000 in December last year at Portsmouth Crown Court for failing to remove benches outside the venue. Portsmouth Magistrates’ Court this week heard how rock bands were playing live music at the venue that resulted in neighbours’ floors vibrating and words to songs being clearly audible from apartments nearby. A marquee had also been put up to stage events. Bartrip, 42, of Weevil Lane, Gosport, denied four charges failing to comply with noise abatement notices relating to August, October and November last year. Speaking to The News after the case, Bartrip said: ‘It is a huge blow and is a real same because this area could be a thriving site like Gunwharf Quays, but it feels like some people don’t want that to happen.’

Read more at: https://www.portsmouth.co.uk/news/crime/gosport-bar-owner-fined-10-000-over-thudding-noise-complaints-1-8389162

 

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Council ‘can’t cope’ with noise complaints

Source: Irish Examiner, Sean O’Riordan

Many residents in Co Cork are experiencing excessive noise pollution as a monitoring agency lacks sufficient personnel to enforce legislation, described as “inadequate”.

Cork County Council, tasked with monitoring noise pollution, admits to being “snowed under” and not having the manpower to deal with complaints.

Cllr Marcia D’Alton demanded the Government should initiate a comprehensive review of national environmental noise legislation, with a view to setting statutory limit values for excessive environmental noise levels based on recommendations from the World Health Organisation.

She said excessive noise in some areas was leading to sleep deprivation, stress and mental health.

Cllr D’Alton claimed an estimated 250,000 people in Ireland live with excessive noise levels and, of those, 100,000 suffered sleep disturbance from traffic.

Cllr Mary Rose Desmond said noise levels on a busy HGV Cork-Ringaskiddy route, especially around the Broomfield area, were a real eye-opener for her.

“It’s so bad people can no longer leave their windows open,” she said.

Cllr Anthony Barry, who sits on the council’s Environment Special Purposes Committee, said trees had been removed along the M25 Cork-Midleton road and M8 in Glanmire which had increased noise levels for local householders. He said no significant sound barriers had been put in place to rectify the problem.

Meanwhile, Cllr Deirdre Forde pointed out people living in the suburb of Douglas were also suffering excessive noise from passing traffic and said the council’s enforcement section was snowed under with complaints from all over the county.

The council’s deputy chief executive Declan Daly said it would not be realistic to expect the council to apply low noise surfaces to all of its 12,600km of roads.

In a report, Louis Duffy, head of the council’s Environment Directorate, said he was in favour of a government review of current noise limits.

He said the primary legislation dates back to the early 1990s. An updated bill was proposed in 2006 but never enacted, he said.

Mr Duffy said environment directorate staff took part in a national working group which developed a protocol for dealing with noise complaints for local authorities.

Supported by the EPA, it includes a recommendation that local authorities develop and adopt individual noise complaint management policies.

A draft policy will be brought to the council’s Environment Special Purposes Committee for consideration later this year.
Source: Irish Examiner

 

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Northern Ireland noise complaints on the rise – but where’s the loudest?

Noise complaints are on the rise in Northern Ireland.

Noise complaints across Northern Ireland are on the rise, official government figures show.

Overall complaints rose by 13% – in 2016/17 12,105 complaints were received about excessive noise compared to 10,754 the previous year.

And the biggest source of noise, according to those having their ears bashed, comes from householders themselves. Loud music, televisions, parties and animal noise contributed to 80% of all complaints.

While noise from pubs and clubs was the next biggest complaint made.

“The 13% rise in complaints does not necessarily equate to worsening noise pollution,” the Department of Agriculture Environment and Rural Affairs said.

“The increase may be due to individuals becoming more susceptible to noise or more aware of who they should complain to when they experience noise problems.

“Councils have a number of courses of action open to them when dealing with noise complaints. Informal warnings are frequently used but formal options include service of a notice, prosecution and seizure of noise making equipment.

“Education, through the Noise Statistics Report, activities during Noise Action Week and the general work of district councils, is considered the most appropriate way of preventing noise issues.”

Belfast was the council area to receive the highest number of complaints with nearly 7,000. It issued 547 notices.

Noise complaints received by council area:

Belfast: 6,942

Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon: 831

Antrim and Newtownabbey: 578

Newry, Mourne and Down: 576

Derry and Strabane: 554

Causeway Coast and Glens: 519

Ards and North Down: 513

Lisburn and Castlereagh: 468

Mid Ulster: 438

Mid and East Antrim: 388

Fermanagh and Omagh: 298

Belfast Telegraph Digital

 

Source: Belfast Telegraph.

 

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Noise complaints at Dublin Airport increased by almost a fifth in 2017

Noise complaints at Dublin Airport increased by a whopping 19% last year.

Figures published by the airport showed 1,194 reports of excessive noise from airplane landing and take-offs.

This was a massive jump from the 1,003 complaints made in 2016.

The reason for the stark rise is down to more use of the second runway at the airport.

According to the Times, the second runway was used more at night while the main runway was being upgraded.

An airport spokesman told the paper that flight paths and landing approaches took jets over more populated areas when using the second runway.

The daa reportedly traced two thirds of the complaints to the use of the second runway, with most being linked to when a southern approach was used.

The spokesman said: “The vast majority of these were due to night work on the main runway’s overlay project and its subsequent non-availability for flight operations.

“While the number of flight movements at Dublin has increased in recent years, the advent of new, quieter, aircraft types has brought substantial reductions in aircraft noise.”

The number of complaints on the main runway fell by 44 %.

The daa figures also show that the 1,194 complains were lodged by just 423 people.

A noise and flight track monitoring system costing €1million has been introduced to ensure minimum noise disruption.

Source: Dublin Live.

 

 

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Belfast second worst city for UK noise complaints

By Rebecca Black

DEFRA Northern Ireland

 

Belfast is the second noisiest city in the UK, according to the number of complaints received by local councils.

Freedom of Information Act requests sent to 253 local authorities across the UK reveal that the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea received the most complaints – 34,910 – between January 1, 2015 and August 31, 2017.

The main cause for complaint was music, followed by building work and buskers.

Belfast was second, with 17,480 complaints in the same period.

The least number of complaints were made in the Isles of Scilly (40) and the Outer Hebrides (40).

Matt Carey, head of digital marketing at Anglian Home Improvements, which carried out the research, said: “Anyone struggling with noisy neighbours this winter should look at straightforward soundproofing techniques in their home.”

The company provides tips online on helping homeowners to do this at www.anglianhome.co.uk/goodtobehome/home-news/home-health.

Belfast Telegraph

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Noisy Neighbours UK – Our Survey Results Revealed

Background and Purpose
Initial Findings
Regional Data
Benchmarking Data
Inherent Variation
Future Developments

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Our 2014 Noisy Neighbours UK survey revealed some interesting information about the numbers of noise complaints being received by local authorities in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. We asked each local authority in the UK how many noise complaints they received, how much enforcement action they took and about officer staffing levels.  Data was provided by 340 respondents out of the 374 local authorities in England, Wales and Northern Ireland (a response rate of 91%). During the course of the research we have compared the data received to government data and national indicies; and are able to outline some interesting findings (due to differing noise enforcement mechanisms in Scotland we excluded their data from the survey).

As well as locating the UK’s noisiest local authority areas our survey set out to determine whether we were able to make any meaningful comparison between local authority noise complaint and enforcement activity.

INITIAL FINDINGS

422,250 noise complaints were received by local authorities responding to the survey (predominantly environmental health departments) in the 2013-2014 financial period.

On average 1.7 abatement notices were served by each Council (for noise) for every 100 complaints received. 24 Councils were identified as having served no notices at all. There were an average of 3.85 officers working in each Borough each responsible for investigating an average of 385 complaints. Many of these officers were responsible for carrying out a number of other tasks in addition to noise investigations.

With the data we were able to rank local authority areas in terms of the number of complaints received and rate of enforcement action taken. Some regional data is available below. The results provide an initial snapshot of how local authority areas compare regionally.

 

To find out more, click here.