Woman fined over barking dogs
A WOMAN who kept 16 dogs in her semi-detached house in Runcorn must pay £2,000 after they would not stop barking.
Abigail Findlay-Stankovich, 67, pleaded guilty to breaching a noise abatement notice imposed by Halton Council after complaints from her neighbours in Bluebell Court, Runcorn.
Her appearance at Warrington Magistrates’ Court followed a long-running investigation after neighbours first complained about the barking in June 2018.
Following the complaint, the council installed microphones in the neighbouring property to record the barking, which was determined to be so loud it was a statutory nuisance.
The council then served a noise abatement notice, requiring Findlay-Stankovich to stop her dogs barking so much, but received further complaints and reinstalled the microphones in March 2019.
These once again recorded barking over a number of days and the council took legal action.
Cllr Stef Nelson, Halton Council’s executive board member for environmental health, said: “The council takes all allegations relating to noise nuisance seriously and we will always work with residents to try and resolve any noise issues informally.
“However, we hope that this case sends out a clear message that the council will always strive to protect the interests of those affected by noise nuisance and will not hesitate to take robust enforcement action against the worst offenders.”
Magistrates fined FindlayStankovich £480 for breaching the noise abatement notice and ordered her to pay another £1,500 towards the council’s costs and a surcharge of £48 for victim services.