Crackdown on noisy neighbours

Loud music is a source of distress, the survey found

One in four people in Northern Ireland endure noisy neighbours who play loud music, have barking dogs or argue, a survey has revealed.

However, about half of sufferers do not complain because they do not know who to call, have no faith in the system or are terrified of confronting their neighbour.

The figures were revealed by the charity Encams Northern Ireland who have teamed up with councils in Belfast and Londonderry to try to tackle the problem.

They will be advertising phone numbers to report those making a racket and have embarked on a major poster campaign using the slogan "It's Torture".

Caroline Briggs, director of Encams Northern Ireland said people who complained were often stereotyped as an "interfering Victor Meldrew".

We have found the threat of a £100 fine to be an effective deterrent for noisy neighbours Heather Armstrong Belfast City Council

"In reality they are ordinary people who are being driven crazy by constant racket at unsociable hours and what they badly need is a discreet and easy way of reporting incidents," she said.

"This campaign gives them the ability to do just that in complete confidence."

Belfast City Council received almost 4,000 complaints about noise last year, mainly about loud stereos and televisions.

The council has introduced a night time noise service and has extra enforcement powers under the Noise Act to help tackle the problem.

This includes issuing noisy neighbours with £100 spot fines and, in extreme cases, seizing stereo equipment and CD's.

Encams questioned 21 to 40-year-olds and 41 to 65-year-olds for a study on noise. Loud music, cars, screaming children and loud parties were among the complaints.

While noise caused some to feel distress, others said it had made them physically ill and had even forced them out of their homes.

But sufferers were more tolerant about crying babies, burglar alarms going off for a good reason and older people turning up their televisions, the survey revealed.

Late night parties

Heather Armstrong, principal environmental health officer at Belfast City Council said: "I would encourage anyone who is disturbed by noise to complain promptly to the environmental health department of their local council.

"We have found the threat of a £100 fine to be an effective deterrent for noisy neighbours and 96% of noise makers comply with the warning notices served by council officers."

Enda Cummins senior environmental health officer for Derry City Council, said barking dogs and late night parties were the main source of noise complaints in that area.

"We would advise anyone who is constantly on the receiving end of loud noise created by neighbours to contact the environmental health department where the complaint will be dealt with," he said.

ENCAMS works for the improvement of local environments through a variety of campaigns and programmes such as People & Places and the Seaside Awards as well as the Tidy Northern Ireland Campaign.