AIBU to give you an update re Church noise?

[alittlequinnie]

I am not sure if you remember my original thread but I asked people to let me know what would be considered reasonable in relation to noise levels of living next door to a Church.

The thread gathered pace and I left it just before we had a meeting with the Council, the Methodist Church members and the Seventh Day Adventist Members.

Just to let you all know that the meeting went ahead on Friday. The Methodist Minister didn't actually manage to get any representatives from the Seventh Day Adventists to the meeting - he said that he had been waiting for a letter from the Council before asking them. However, he sees them every single Saturday and the meeting has been booked for about 6 weeks so I am not sure why he found it so difficult to verbally tell them.

So there was just my DH and I, the Methodist Minister we deal with, the Council lady and one other Minister (higher up) from the Methodist Church.

Basically we all put our findings - which was mostly my DH and I because we are ones moaning.

There was no defence to the noise - just putting facts really. The Methodist Minister we speak with is a bit of a drip and didn't really have any solutions.

The Council however said that they were just here to fact gather and to see if a solution could be found through mediation.

She did mention that when there is a noise nuisance they usually monitor the property making the noise at the border. This means that any noise leakage at the border can be considered a nuisance.

Obviously the noise is leaking over their border, over our border and into our house so we feel cautiously optimistic that they are breaching "something".

The plan is as follows:

• We continue to monitor for another 6 weeks now the meeting has taken place to see if any improvement.

*We give a copy of our findings to the Methodist Minister every Sunday so that he can speak with the Seventh Day Adventists about the issues to see what he can do.

*Somebody from the SDA's to come over to our house and give us name and contact number so we can speak with them directly if there is a particular issue

• Review after 6 weeks.

First Saturday of the 6 weeks was the one just gone. Absolutely no improvement whatsoever - we could hear the lyrics of the hymns they were singing in our bedroom still.

Also we gave the copy of the noise diary to the Minister but nobody from SDA's came over to our house to give us contact details.

Will keep plugging at it but not sure how effective it is to have had the meeting when the SDA's were not there - so frustrating for the Methodist Minister not to manage to do this simple thing!

I'm going to now start to tackle the terrible parking to see if that helps the situation at all. I feel if there are less cars piled on the double yellows, pedestrian crossing, accross my garage and on the zig zag lines there may be less people milling around all together?

Who knows!

Good luck OP!

I was all geared up for yet another Zombie thread alert but you've come back with an update OP. I do hope things improve when the new church Minister is installed and that you can really enjoy living in your house.

Having read your original post I think you are perfectly right to complain, they are just new noisy neighbours that have moved in with no consideration. Good luck

It sounds like very anti-social behaviour

Its probably more a cultural clash than deliberate anti-social behaviour.
The seventh day adventists are probably just having typical services/ use of church for their home country/ country of origin. At least if the congregration OP is talking about has a similar demographic to the one I am familiar with.

OP I feel your pain. We have a four storey block of apartments being built across from us. They had to stop building twice due to various lock down measures and it is only when they started back again that you realise just how noisy they are! Especially as pre lockdown I would have been out at work all day. But they don't work on Sunday or Bank Holidays and are only there some Saturday mornings so we do get a break from it. And I had triple glazed windows put in recently which is a big help. Plus they will be finished someday! Hopefully the new Methodist minister will be more proactive in you and your neighbours favour.

@alittlequinnie

If they are parking illegally that's one thing, but complaining about hymns being sung in a church!!! WTF. MN jumped the shark.

What about when the hymns are amplied to a level that you can hear the words of them INSIDE your house?

What decibel does the singing reach inside your front room?

I used to work in the music industry. I know quite a bit about the council and how they work etc because we had to consult with them before every concert or festival

@lightand

Out of interest, how many hours of the week was the problem for?

Perhaps if you read the threads, you might find out?

@Nocutenamesleft

You should run to OPs rescue in the event they return. If this was me I would be searching for someone like you to hire a full scale rig for every Saturday and blast Dj Hazard sets over the road. It would be quite fun actually.

[quote LemonSwan]@Nocutenamesleft

You should run to OPs rescue in the event they return. If this was me I would be searching for someone like you to hire a full scale rig for every Saturday and blast Dj Hazard sets over the road. It would be quite fun actually.[/quote]
Hahahah. Oh yes! Now I’d totally be up for that!!!!!!

However the rigs we used would be like Glastonbury rigs. Or reading festival rigs. I don’t even know anyone with smaller ones that would fit into someone’s garden.

But yes! We need to get together and do that! I’m just thinking about it now. What a cool idea

@Nocutenamesleft Haha well that would certainly be loud enough!

I used to go to quite a few free raves and some of the small rigs still really pack a punch. It would be soooo much fun!

A mumsnet party of ladies, drum and bass and the raging Seventh Da Adventists hahaha. The council could hardly complain after 4 years of OP complaining!

Having read the threads before i'm glad to hear it has at least been quiet since last year. At least there was one benefit to lockdown. Hope it stays that way for you.

[quote LemonSwan]@Nocutenamesleft Haha well that would certainly be loud enough!

I used to go to quite a few free raves and some of the small rigs still really pack a punch. It would be soooo much fun!

A mumsnet party of ladies, drum and bass and the raging Seventh Da Adventists hahaha. The council could hardly complain after 4 years of OP complaining![/quote]
Oh yeah. Those can really pack a punch.

Any time we had a festival we would have to get the council around to come and check the dB levels. At one point we had one was a hell of a lot louder than a jet taking off. People wonder why I have damaged hearing now!!

@Syphonit

Can you get the police involved? It sounds like very anti-social behaviour. I say this as someone who goes to a loud worshipping church (worship band). The worship probably lasts for 25 minutes max. I would not want to be part of a church that was making a nuisance of themselves to the neighbours. It sounds horrible (and I love a good hymn / worship song). The fact that you haven't minded other forms of worship in the past shows that you're not trying to stop them worshipping, just wanting them to be respectful of other people.

But 25 minutes out of 168 hours, is peanuts.

Quite for the rest of the time.
Totally quiet for 164 hours?

Not a bad deal as a neighbour as far as I am concerned.

I find this fascinating

I sense in real life you are pleasant, intelligent and articulate person
And yet I truly believe that moving next to a church ruled out any discussion re noise and what’s reasonable.

Just as moving next to a hospital rules out any discussion regarding noise

Moving next to a very busy road rules out any discussion re level of traffic

Etc

At one point we had one was a hell of a lot louder than a jet taking off.

Sounds fabulous! When you can feel the vibrations.

God I need a party lol.

Kind of hoping we get to execute this fantastic plan now

I remember your original thread OP. It feels like yesterday since you posted it, it's been a strange couple of years!

I'm glad the pandemic brought you some peace.

To all the people chiming in about "did you really move next to a church to complain about noise"... READ THE FUCKING THREAD

@VariantL1130

I remember your original thread OP. It feels like yesterday since you posted it, it's been a strange couple of years!

I'm glad the pandemic brought you some peace.

To all the people chiming in about "did you really move next to a church to complain about noise"... READ THE FUCKING THREAD

* We've lived here for 15 years so yes, obviously the Church was there before us!*

That is the most pertinent point

@Sometimesfraught82

I find this fascinating

I sense in real life you are pleasant, intelligent and articulate person
And yet I truly believe that moving next to a church ruled out any discussion re noise and what’s reasonable.

Just as moving next to a hospital rules out any discussion regarding noise

Moving next to a very busy road rules out any discussion re level of traffic

Etc

I suggest that you DO read the thread. The OP isn't complaining about the bells being rung regularly, or a couple of services on Sundays & maybe the odd wedding/funeral/christening on other days.

In recent years, that is long after she moved next to a Methodist church, this was being rented out to a group of SDA who play exceptionally loud music through amplifiers, and even preach through amplifiers on max. There is a massive difference between Methodist services and SDA services - it's like moving next to small local public football pitch for Sunday fun players, then suddenly it becomes the new Wembley.

All day, from mid morning until past midnight. Then the inconsiderate parking & noise of people shouting while leaving is just an added nuisance.

Unlikely to that extent. I lived very close in London, and whilst much more frequent - not even close to this level, not even close.

But my point stands. You move next to a church. Discussions re noise out the window.
Same as move next to a motorway. Discussions re traffic out the window.

You move next to a church. Discussions re noise out the window.

Not if the amount/type of noise produced by said church changes significantly after you move. Not if the amount/type of noise is such as to comprise a statutory noise nuisance WHICH DID NOT EXIST WHEN YOU MOVED IN.

You move next to a church. Discussions re noise out the window.
Same as move next to a motorway. Discussions re traffic out the window.

If I moved next to a motorway I would expect motorway noise, not airport runway noise. I assume that the OP expected church noise not nightclub noise. She said on her original thread that she had absolutely no problem with the noise of normal church usage IIRC.

* We've lived here for 15 years so yes, obviously the Church was there before us!

That is the most pertinent point*

So. My pub has been here 300 years. The surrounding flats were built about in last 20-50 years, doesn't mean I get to do whatever the fuck I want without any regard for the local community.

OP I hope you get some resolution to this quickly, after having the peace & quiet for the last year or so, when they return you will feel it more than ever.

You get to do what you like as long as adhere with your licensing arrangement.

@Sometimesfraught82

Bollocks. If you'd moved next to a church with normal church noise and then suddenly found yourself being blasted with a rock concert level of noise every week you'd be on here complaining as well.

@IsobelRae23

I was coming on to say you were being unreasonable- then I read your other thread.

OP you need a sainthood yourself for putting up with that!

Same here, they sound so inconsiderate - all the peripheral noise is what would annoy me, mor ethan the service itself. If it were just the service you could at least manage that as the times would be regular.

I live near a place of worship and traffic/parking is an issue as it is popular but they are so respectful and considerate with everything that they can control. They are excellent neighbours thus far.

Really feel for you OP.