What is noise nuisance?
A noise nuisance is any significant and unreasonable emission of noise which affects another reasonable person in a significant and unreasonable way. It is more than annoyance and much more than the mere detection of noise. There are no legal noise levels, so nuisance is assessed as much by the reaction of an average reasonable person as by any technical equipment. Sometimes noise measurements may be made to support the assessment of a nuisance. Many other factors determine whether or not a noise is a statutory nuisance such as: • The time of day • The location e.g. urban/rural • The duration of the noise • The volume of the noise • The character of the noise. A noise nuisance may be caused by many activities including music, DIY and barking dogs.
