Introduction
We want to ensure the best quality of life of our residents and others through the management of neighbourhood, neighbour and environmental noise in our district. We will:
Inspect our area from time to time for nuisance
Our duties under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 require us, from time to time, to inspect out district for nuisances, including those caused by noise.
In addition to responding to complaints we will deal with any situations we discover during the course of our normal duties and from time to time we will carry out proactive targeted activities to address specific issues in the noise field.
Investigate complaints about noise
We will take reasonable steps to investigate complaints we receive alleging nuisance from noise using the most appropriate techniques to gather evidence sufficient to make a judgement as to whether further action needs to be taken.
Use available evidence to assess the needs of our residents
We will use readily available sources of intelligence and information to form a picture of the issues affecting the residents of our area taking account of the type of problems reported to or observed by our officers to plan our response.
Provide the right resource to meet the need
Based on the information gained to assess our resident’s needs we will aim to structure our service delivery in the most effective ways to the benefit of our residents.
Ensure our staff are competent, trained and authorised to carry out their work
The Council has
- a corporate training and development plan to meet those training needs which are relevant to delivery of its services
- a published constitution and scheme of delegation which shows how officers are authorised to take decisions on behalf of the Council.
All officers are authorised to carry out their duties according to their competency and training.
Work with other organisations
We will work in partnership with organisations wherever possible to ensure the best customer service.
Where appropriate, but not exhaustively, this will include working with the Police, Licensees, and the Community Safety Partnership. We will work with tenant organisations and with social landlords and housing associations to ensure that tenant obligations are met
Comply with human rights and equalities law
This Policy and all associated enforcement decisions will take account of the provisions of the Human Rights Act 1998.
We will also have regard to the Council’s Equality Policy, which sets out how we will ensure that everyone within our district can have fair and equal access to our services.
Work to prevent noise wherever possible through advice, planning, licensing and other routes
We will work to minimise the impact of noise in our districts by:
- Responding to and where applicable providing advice through planning and licensing consultations
- Providing advice to our communities on our website and through newsletters and other media
- Provide advice to our customers including residents and businesses
Deliver this policy through clear procedures and service standards
We will treat everyone as an individual and assess every complaint on its merits following the procedures and service standards outlined in the Council’s Noise Investigation Procedure to ensure a fair, impartial and consistent approach in all cases.
We will explain those matters that we can and cannot deal with at the outset so that expectations are not unrealistically raised.
We will ensure that a record of all communications are accurately logged on our data base and updated in a timely manner as the investigation progresses.
Keep our customers informed at every stage of their complaint
We will keep our customers informed at key stages of the investigation about the action being taken and why.
Wherever possible follow national enforcement policy and guidance
This Policy sets out the general principles and approach we will follow when enforcing legislation which we are responsible for.
It will be used in conjunction with all relevant statutory Codes of Practice and guidance issued by Central Government Departments such as the Department of Environment Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), the Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG), and the Better Regulation Delivery Office (BRDO) among others.
Ensure that our customers have a way to complain if they are unhappy with our service
Whilst we will always endeavour to provide the best possible level of service it is acknowledged that occasions may arise where a customer is dissatisfied with the service provided.
We have a Council Complaints Policy so that customers have a mechanism to feedback on their experience.