Noisy church next door driving me crazy

[Marbles321]

Hi all. I'm awake at 1am because the church next door has woken me up again with one of their noisy services.

It's an African church, and they hold extremely loud services - loudspeakers, singers, preaching - at ridiculous hours of the night (and early morning).
Not to mention the members of the congregation coming and going and shouting and laughing all the time.

DP and I have spoken to them (politely) several times, not so politely a couple of times, and called the council on several occasions (have just done so now) but they don't seem to ever stop their behaviour.

I'm heavily pregnant and exhausted and tbh I'm tearing my hair out and nor sure what to do. Not sure if I'm over reacting but surely we have the right to be in our homes and relax and get a decent night's sleep?!

Just venting really but would appreciate any advice from anyone who's successfully dealt with similar noisy neighbours.

Definitely complain to the noise team at the council.

Be warned they sometimes go off duty at 1am (at least did in my old area) and someone used that to their advantage

But complain enough times and they will come out to see. Literally ring the minute it begins

They don't need shutting down - they can either move to a more remote location or invest in soundproofing. Most likely they will be earning enough in tithes to cover this expense.

Unfortunately the way they will possibly be viewing it is that you residents will walk in to complain and be overcome by the power of the Holy Spirit and join them in their holy disco. Disappoint them gently to avoid any harsh punishments they may be calling down upon you for not joining in

I live near a church. I hear church bells on a Sunday. They have bellringing practice one evening, though finish by a consistent time each week (and have never over-run).

I don't hear church bells at midnight or 1am which is unreasonable and so you should complain.

OP get on To the Council noise team! It’s not acceptable!
This is very much a London and maybe big city phenomenon. Yes it is a Church, but it’s not a stone building with a steeple. It’s very common for Churches to be set up in office buildings, shops, houses, nurseries, etc there was a road in Tottenham which had about 12 of these at one time. I think they are often Pentecostal and there is a lot of noise due to they way in which they worship.

I am a church bell ringer. The church has been there for 800 years, BUT, that didn't mean we could do as we please. Sound proofing is put in place for the 'practice' on Tuesdays. Still audible but muffled.

This is removed for the Sunday services at 10:00 and 18:30.

Apart from that, there is midnight ringing for Christmas Day and New Years eve, and Saturday weddings, obvs.

If the setting is not a purpose built church, there will need to have been planning permission for change of use from eg an office etc.

Religion does not get a carte blanche in all these things.

I've checked You. Gov site and places of worship don't need an entertainment licence.
But I would think that they are still subject to noise abatement regulations

I live near a church that was fined £10,000 for similar behaviour- also in zone 2 south east London. I’ll dig out the article

www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.standard.co.uk/news/london/south-london-church-fined-over-loud-3am-antidemon-services-a3206721.html%3famp

@nightmanagerfan that article sounds like EXACTLY what is happening here. Unsociable hours, and random loud services at strange times that change each week. We knew before we moved in that there was a Sunday service and a Tuesday evening (evening, not night!) service. We were ok with this because it seemed perfectly reasonable and we loved the flat. But they hold far more services than that, always at different times, always a bit different. They are actually at it again already - they started at 8am this morning after eventually stopping at 3.30am when the council came round and asked them to keep it down.
The council people said they could have an informal chat but didn't seem to know what rights a church have so couldn't advise on formal complaints (not overly helpful....)

I'm going to do some research today and speak to environmental health about long term solutions to anti-social hours and noise.
Thanks everybody

The building of the church I attend was built in the 1990's and the rules about noise were pretty strict. We're not actually allowed any amplified music outside of service times - so Sunday mornings only. All windows and doors must be kept closed.
We do try and be considerate neighbours.
This lot sound very inconsiderate and, in all honesty, not very Christian.
Keep contacting the council. Have you spoken to other neighbours? Perhaps if a group of you get together, your complaints might have more weight.

Maybe OP you can find out from the other London authority who brought the case, what points of law they utilised. And presumably this sets a precedent which could be helpful in your case.

Hope you can sort it - noise at night is the one thing guaranteed to make me lost my sh*t - and I'm not even pregnant so I totally feel for you OP, it must be absolutely horrendous.

I would really be interested to learn how things proceed and what you're able to achieve.

@Doinforthekids we are actually in the same London borough as the other church that was fined by the looks of it so I shall definitely ask about what regulations were used there. I'll keep you posted!

Whilst I fully agree that more complaints will carry more weight and might be more effective in causing the local authority to get off their backsides to sort the matter out, I think purely 'politically' and strategically, OP will need to be careful that it doesn't come across that a group has been developed and mobilised to get rid of a church on religious or racial grounds, as though it's an en masse attempt to get 'the wrong sorts' out of the neighbourhood (which it isn't, but doing it 'as a group' I think could have some negative effects on the cause so I think it just needs thinking about carefully). Eg, leafleting all the neighbours asking them to complain (not that I'm saying you're going to do this OP!) could be a sticky wicket when you've got a long game to play and could look like organised removal of special interest groups when that's not your intention at all, you just want some consideration with respect to noise that's all. Might be better once you get environmental health on board initially to ask them to go and speak to other neighbours/write to/phone other neighbours to get a feel for the extent of the issue, if that makes some modicum of sense and iyswim.

Oh that's great then - that's absolutely fantastic in fact, you should be able to get a good result then I hope.

OP I feel your pain.

15 years ago we moved opposite a methodist church - for 12 years no problems at all.

They hold services and 6 times a week there is a different event - karate, choir practice etc. No problems at all.

3 years ago they started to rent it out to the 7th Day Adventists on a Saturday.

OMG the difference - 300 people attend the church on a saturday opposite us - they have 3/4 services each Saturday - so people coming and going all day - horns bibbing, people shouting, hoards of people socialising in the street right under my bedroom window.

and the NOISE - can't watch tv on a saturday with the windows open because you can't hear - can't sit in your garden because you can hear preaching through loudspeaker.

people say the same to me - why did you move by a church but it wasn't like this was 12 yeras.

like you - they hold midnight services - i had to go out one night at 11.pm and ask them why they felt it was okay to bib horns and shout in the street under my window at that time of night.

they park over our garages and block us in, leave bottles on our car and are generally a nusience.

there are certain rules for worship but what we are complaining about isn't what you would expect as "worship" i don't think.

last week we coudln't hear ourselves think for drumming - my husband went over there and there were teenages doing their band practice - amplified - the noise had gone on for 3 hours by the time we cracked and comlained.

we've tried the vicar and the council but we are not getting anywhere - not helped AT ALL by the fact that our road is tiny and there are only two houses on it.

we tried to get our neighbours invovled but they told us they "didn'tn like the sea of black faces" on the road so we dare not ever let them get invovled now due to their racism.

I thnk that the meeting on a saturday is the largest seventh day adventist meeting in the whole of the county now - 10 metres from my front door. i hate them. i want to move but husband is convinced that eventually we will get through to the council - i'm not so sure.

to clarify - they arrive at 9.00 am on a saturday morning and leave at about 8pm on a saturday night - that's a lot of hours of constant noise on one of the two days you are off work.

They're worshipping God. Go join in!

They're worshipping God. Go join in!

Noisey antisocial behaviour is not acceptable no matter what the reason. "Joining in" is simply also being disrespectful to others.

Littlequinnie that sounds really difficult. I hope the council take you seriously!

@Doinforthekids, that's a very good point on maybe not getting neighbours involved. Last thing we want is for this to be about race, and we don't want it shut down - it's a part of the community and the Sunday service is obviously a real highlight for a lot of the congregation.

I am white but DP is Not , and while I've never been a church goer, DP grew up going to various types of Episcopalian services so we are totally ok with worship being a little "different" to the usual C of E fare.
But we are not ok with the unsociable hours and unpredictable services and music which are having an effect on our life. Anything between 8am and 10pm is ok, it's part and parcel of living in multicultural London I suppose - its the night noise and broken sleep that are sending me over the edge!

Environmental Health for you, OP.

When I moved here (v.naice area) the local church's bells chimed the quarters and halves as well as giving it full bongs on the hour. I loved it but enough people didn't so the bells from 11pm - 7am have been silenced for years, except for midnight on NY Eve.

So noise abatement restrictions for your lot are certainly do-able, OP.

Get your local MP involved too?

VladmirsPoutine Apart from the fact they are worshiping THEIR God, which may well not be the same as that of all the neighbours, I thought one of the instructions of the Christian faith is that you are kind to others. Destroying their sleep isn't kind, waking the children up isn't kind, ruining other's enjoyment of their homes isn't kind.

Worshiping your own God isn't a license to run rough shod over everyone else's lives. I wonder if you would say the same about a thread complaining about Satanists holding a Black Mass 8 times a year including fires, orgies, bells, drums and sacrifices in view of your garden? I mean, they are only worshiping their God, why don't you join in?

At 1am?!

Disturbing your neighbours sleep and blocking their driveways and so on does not seem to be what Jesus would do!

It is an AFRICAN church - the OP moved next to an ordinary Sundays and Holy days church and that changed. It is not acceptable for any cultural group.

African churches are just the woorse! I'm so sorry op.

I would never live in an African area again just because of how noisy it generally is. Some people seem no issue with shouting at each other at 3am in a deadly quiet street when there's just the two of them.