Agenda item

To receive a report from Anju Sidhu, Head of Service for Regulatory Services, Environment and Social Regeneration on Noise and Nuisance in Southwark.

The commission received a report from Anju Sidhu, Head of Service for Regulatory Services, Environment and Social Regeneration and David Franklin, Business Unit Manager, Noise and Neighbourhood Service on Noise and Nuisance in Southwark.

Anju addressed the commission on the following topics

·  Structure of the Noise and Nuisance service: staff, working hours, volume of requests and type of complaints that are mainly from domestic homes and commercial businesses, complaining of loud music, parties & construction noise

·  Noise and Nuisance legislation does not stipulate a legal level of noise. Complaints are assessed based on the impact of the noise, case law and government guidance, does not take into account individual sensitivities to noise

·  Increased levels of complaints of noise and nuisance during the pandemic primarily due to people working from home

·  Noise complaint assessments conducted where possible even during the pandemic to restore order and deal with anti-social behaviour through community protection notices in some cases

·  Chartered Institute of Environmental Health survey across 12 London Boroughs indicated Southwark offered great value for money. During the challenging pandemic times the service has been constantly identifying opportunities and better ways of working

·  Service review to look at lessons learned, service continuity and business insurance

Anju then answered the commission’s question around the following themes

·  Noise and Nuisance originating from other London Boroughs along shared boundaries with Southwark and the possibility of co-ordinating with officers across Boroughs for an informal solution.

·  Informal action by officers by appealing to public with reasoning to try and resolve minor disputes

·  Acceptable levels of noise

Anju informed the commission that due to pandemic restrictions one of the good practices emerging were informal resolutions, the review will be looking at mediation services for disputes where legal thresholds are not met for formal action. Depending on whether the noise complaint is commercial or residential officers also have the option to liaise with the licensing and housing department to approach the issue through terms and conditions of tenancy and/or licensing. On border noise issues, officer working groups across London could possibly be tasked with tackling such complaints.

On acceptable levels of noise there are no set levels and is based on circumstances and context, noise of a reasonable activity in the early hours such as 2 am could be much louder due to very little ambient noises and would not constitute a nuisance, other considerations need to be given to the use of land whether its residential or commercial and reasonable levels of noise for those properties. The reason for the noise is also important in the context of sound insulation, people just walking around in their flats for instance would not constitute a statutory nuisance, blaring music from speakers at 2 am could be classed a statutory nuisance. Children running around playing and making noise is not dealt with by the service.

The commission then had discussions around the following themes

·  The noise and nuisance report indicates higher level of noise complaints in Southwark which is based on more service requests which in a lot of cases are the same occurrence of noise with a lot of people complaining

·  Service being busier on weekends is in need of more resources and funding for initiatives to educate residents on impacts of noise on mental health

·  Funding for new technology, recording devices that could help officers collect evidence in the field and link it back to Council systems sooner.

·  In the case of construction noise from developers, officer work proactively with them to limit noise disturbances by having set operating hours within a consent order, Council uses the Control Of Pollution Act in this case to manage and control noises

·  Post pandemic an assessment of the service’s operation and delivery would be needed before a safe return to full working conditions for officers, especially with regards to site visits

·  Reports suggest levels could be returning to normal when compared to during the pandemic restrictions when hospitality venues switched to outdoor seating and also people retuning to offices

·  Response time frames, working hours and rapid responses

·  Multi agency approach for an escalating case, licensing, housing, tenancy management organisation and police

·  Prolific complainants, intermittent noises, environmental protection apps for residents and legal channels for resident complaints through magistrate courts