by: Stephen Turner – President of the Institute of Acoustics
The extract below appeared in a recent feature by JENNY TUCKER for THE TELEGRAPH
'If you live in a property that is attached to your neighbours’, you will be likely to hear each other from time to time. So, if you are doing something that is noisy (home DIY), think about the time of day you are doing it and the effect the noise may be having on them
If you are holding a party, invite the neighbours – they will be less likely to complain about the noise if they are with you!
If you are bothered by noise from your neighbours, speak to them about it first. They may not realise the noise is causing you a problem
If talking doesn’t help, you can complain to your local authority’s environmental health team. They will come and investigate to see if you are experiencing a noise nuisance. The noise must be affecting you quite badly for a nuisance to be found, so simply hearing your neighbours will not cut it
The same principle applies to noise from nearby commercial or industrial premises. Speak to them first and, if that doesn’t work, contact your local authority. In this case, however, even if a nuisance is found, it does not necessarily mean the noise will be reduced as there is a defence of Best Practicable Means, which recognises when the noise-maker has done all they reasonably can to mitigate the impact
Further information can be found at: Institute of Acoustics, the Association of Noise Consultants, Chartered Institute of Environmental Health, the Royal Environmental Health Institute of Scotland.'
You can read the feature by going to Quiet Mark | Why background noise at home is driving us mad – and how to get away from it
or directly in the Telegraph https://www.telegraph.co.uk/interiors/home/background-noise-home-drivin…
