Neighbour Noise – Why Can’t We Live and Let Live?

As the company that developed and launched The Noise App, RHE has, over the years, gathered more data about the level and type of noise complaints and the incidents of noise nuisance in the UK than any other organisation.

For example, we know, inter alia, the incidence of noise complaints remains on a rapidly rising trajectory; population density is a good predictor of complaint and, on average, each UK local authority serves 25+ noise nuisance abatement notices each year, with a small but increasing number of authorities serving significantly more than this.

There is no doubt, in more recent times, that many people in the UK have become intolerant of noise made by others, whilst seeming to be increasingly willing to take the view they are entitled to live as they wish to live and the consequences of such a life are irrelevant to them.

What is it in the psyche of modern Britons that, on the one hand, drives a personal state of entitlement yet detests this same sense of entitlement in others? What has and is continuing to drive the disappearance of respect, responsibility, tolerance and a sense of fairness within some British people – characteristics long admired internationally?

Whilst the answers to these questions are important and will underpin the work of social scientists for years to come, we in the environmental health community are left reacting to the new zeitgeist, burning through limited resources and picking up the pieces of an increasingly intolerant community.

Bearing this in mind, perhaps it is timely to consider whether the Environmental Protection Act 1990 (EPA) that requires us to:

1. Take reasonable steps to investigate complaints received, and

2. Serve an abatement notice where we are satisfied as to the existence of a nuisance, remains an appropriate tool and remedy for a society that has, in many instances, lost its own ability to be and be seen to be reasonable!

Statutory nuisance, as set out in section 79 of the EPA, has its roots firmly set in common law, where there is an expectation for reasonableness to pervade all aspects of life and to exist on all sides where a disagreement takes place. In the current circumstances where reasonableness might be considered to have left the building, is it perhaps time to consider setting objective noise standards that would remove the subjectivity of ‘reasonableness’ in an increasingly unreasonable world?

Whilst such a move might seem superficially attractive, I am reminded of a comment made by Mr Justice David Clark when considering a noise nuisance case; he famously said:

If the standard [nuisance] were an objective one, to be measured by some yardstick such as the level of decibels of noise at particular times of the day, the case may have been very different. But such a regime of objective measures would have to take into account so many different factors as to be quite unworkable, and there is no such objective standard prescribed by Parliament.

In making this statement, Justice Clark eloquently articulated the complexity of determining standards in (noise) nuisance matters. His words highlight the challenges faced when attempting to establish objective measures for highly subjective situations, i.e. a person’s willingness to create noise and a person’s reaction to noise. Whilst an objective yardstick, such as decibel levels, might seem straightforward and attractive, the reality is far more intricate. Many noise complaints involve multifaceted factors that defy simple quantification. Parliament has, hitherto, restricted the prescription of a universal objective standard, recognising the need for nuance and context in such cases.

However, whilst Justice Clark’s thoughtful perspective underscores the intricacies inherent in noise nuisance decision-making, perhaps it is time to move away from the concept of ‘nuisance’ with respect to noise and embrace the certainty of set noise limits. After all, should we expect to continue to apply the law based on reasonableness to a society that is losing its ability to be reasonable and seems incapable of following the old maxim of ‘live and let live’?

By Tony Lewis FCIEH CEnvH FRSPH, Professional Services Director at RHE Global.

Get in touch with the team for more information around managing noise nuisance and complaints.