Noise and nuisance

The Environmental Protection Service deals with a wide range of noise and nuisance problems including:

• Barking dogs
• Bonfires
• Car alarms
• Construction site noise or dust pollution
• DIY work
• Fireworks
• Intruder alarms
• Loud music/parties
• Noise from commercial premises
• Noise from pubs and clubs
• Odour from commercial premises
• Light     

Unfortunately we have no power to deal with:

• Aircraft noise
• Problems caused by inadequate sound insulation in residential areas
• Rowdy behaviour in public places
• Traffic noise
• Odour from domestic properties           

We respond to over 6,000 complaints a year concerning noise and nuisance!

Contact us in confidence to report a problem. We will normally visit you to assess whether the noise is a nuisance as defined in law.

This is a subjective assessment by a professional officer, who will contact the person the complaint has been made against, advise them that we are carrying out an investigation and advise them on their responsibilities and how to reduce the noise. We will take action to try to resolve the noise nuisance and prevent it happening again.

The Council does have legal powers, in most cases, to stop noise nuisance but to use these powers officers have to witness the noise from within your property. We aim to respond to 95% of calls after 6.00 pm within 60 minutes and 80% of calls within 45 minutes; during the day our response time is two hours. 

What we need to know
It helps our investigation if you can provide the following information:

• The type of noise such as loud music or air conditioning
• The exact address or location the noise is coming from
• The exact dates and times when the noise starts and stops
• The effect of the noise such as it disturbs your sleep, interferes with your television / radio / conversations, etc
  

What you can do to help

Many people do not realise that their actions are causing their neighbours a problem. If you can approach safely, the best way to deal with the problem is to go to the source – it is best to do this after the event.

Talk to the person or company responsible and explain the problem. You may find that you can resolve the problem amicably without any further action

• Considerate Neighbour
• Individual Action           

If reasoning with your neighbour does not help or you do not want to approach them, then you should contact the Environmental Protection Service.

What are the hours of operation?

Our hours of operation are outside of normal hours and are shown below. 

The service is available 363 days a year: (No service Christmas Day or Boxing Day)

from 11th January 2010
Monday – Wednesday    08:00hrs – 03:00hrs
Thursday – Friday          08:00hrs - 05:00hrs

Saturday - Sunday        12:00hrs - 05:00hrs

Weekend and Bank Holiday Environmental Protection 
All weekends and Bank holidays except Christmas Day and Boxing Day

How to Contact us

• Telephone: 020 8753 1081 or 020 8748 8588 out of hours.
• Fax: 020 8753 3911
• Write to: Public Protection & Safety, 5th Floor, Town Hall Extension, King Street, London,W6 9JU
• Email: environmentalprotection@lbhf.gov.uk
• eform (see below)    

Report it - Online reporting facility