Owners ‘selling their homes over noise next door’

Campaigners reveal blight for residents

STRESSED HOMEOWNERS are resorting to selling up in a bid to escape “nightmare” noisy neighbours, a leading campaign group has warned.

The HomeOwners Alliance offers advice for people driven to distraction by noisy neighbours, and chief executive Paula Higgins has claimed that nuisance noise, like that suffered by thousands in Yorkshire, can be a “persistent worry”.

“Your home is supposed to be your safe haven, and when you are blighted by noisy neighbours, it can feel like anything but that,” she said.

“We’ve known people move because of it, and that itself can be tricky, as you have to disclose the issue, so it can even affect house prices.

“People are at their wits’ end because if it.”

In Rotherham, all complaints are dealt with in-house, which differs from other local authorities, where complaints against those living in council housing are often dealt with by armslength housing organisations rather than the authority’s own environmental health team.

The council believes this is one of the reasons it has a higher than average rate of issuing noise abatement notices – handing out 315 after receiving 5,736 complaints since 2016, one for every 18 complaints received, compared to one in 21 in Leeds.

Nine people were also prosecuted.

Rotherham Council’s cabinet member for community safety, Coun Emma Hoddinott, said:

“Taking enforcement against the minority that cause a nuisance is a priority for us.

“We are continually looking to strengthen our approach to enforcement, including noise nuisance and we urge residents to continue to work with us, making reports where they have concerns.”

Doncaster has a similar rate of issuing notices, with 371 issued amid 6,230 complaints.

In total, 31 people have been prosecuted.

The cabinet member for the environment, Coun Chris McGuinness, said the council proactively investigates reports of noise nuisance and takes enforcement action where it has the evidence required to proceed.

He added: “The enforcement team works alongside the Neighbourhood Response Team to provide a 24-hour response to recurring noise issues and this collaborative working means members of the public can expect enforcement action to be taken where officers witness noise issues.”

At the other end of the scale, Wakefield issued a noise abatement notice for 121 complaints received. In total, 59 were issued for 7,156 complaints and just two prosecutions were pursued.

Wakefield Council’s service director for environment and streetscence, Glynn Humphries, said the majority of the complaints were resolve with an informal conversation.

He said: “Most people want to get on with their neighbours and a simple request, from the Council, to be more considerate is very effective in tackling these disputes.

“When this approach does not to work we will investigate the complaint thoroughly.”

Approaching the person causing the noise directly, he said, allowed them to identify any other issues such as mental health problems or vulnerabilities.

He added that a range of approaches are used to “achieve a solution that is right for the residents we serve”.

A simple request to be more considerate is very effective.

Glynn Humphries, Wakefield Council’s Service Director for Environment and Streetscence