Noise complaints
If you are being bothered by noise - don't suffer in silence - you
can contact the council for help, even if it's in the middle of the
night.
The Council's Environmental Protection team responds to over 700
complaints about noise in West Lancashire each year. Most of these
complaints relate to barking dogs and noisy neighbours.
How to complain about noise
If you are experiencing a problem with noise, whether it's from
domestic or commercial premises, alert the council in the first
instance. You can do this in three ways:
> Click:
noise complaint online form
> Call: 01695
577177 (message service for out of office hours)
> Come in: visit a Customer Service Point at 52 Derby Street
Ormskirk or the Concourse, Skelmersdale
Investigating complaints
When we have received your complaint we write to the people making
the noise, advising them that a complaint has been made and making
them aware that their behaviour is causing a problem.
If the noise continues we will assess whether or not further action
is needed. In most cases the council deals with noise problems by
assessing whether the noise is unreasonable taking into account
factors such as loudness, time of day, how often it occurs and how
long it lasts. Noise which is unreasonable is then dealt with as a
'statutory nuisance' under the powers in the Environmental
Protection Act 1990.
Before considering action the pollution team will fully investigate
a complaint to determine if the noise amounts to a statutory
nuisance. The council will need to determine the following
points:
- the noise occurs often enough
- the extent of the noise and its affect on the complainant
- the noise lasts for unreasonable periods of time.
The Environmental Protection Act 1990 also allows a person
affected by noise to make a complaint directly to a magistrate's
court. If you wish to pursue this option then the council can
provide you with further information although it is recommended
that you obtain legal advice before commencing any action.
Helpful publications
We have produced the following guides to help people cope with
noise pollution:
> barking dogs
> neighbour noise
> reducing neighbour noise
> free noise awareness poster
Contact us
For more information please contact the Environmental Protection
section on 01695 577177 or email a.hill@westlancsdc.gov.uk.
Related information
> Download noise management
policy