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!

@Sometimesfraught82

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

This is incorrect, there are acceptable noise levels and a pub can operate happily for 200 years then get a new landlord who makes a nuisance - which can be dealt with.

Exactly
Do you have a noise level by which you have to comply with? Presumably hours are stipulated but I am curious whether actual decibel level

@Sometimesfraught82

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.

OK we'll use your analogy of roads. You move into a house near a B road, used only by a few locals commuting so you expect a bit of noise for an hour or so on weekday mornings and late afternoons. Then they turn this B road into a motorway. By your thinking, "suck it up, you knew there was a road going past your house".

Another one that may make it clearer to you. There's a little town called Biggin Hill in Kent, where there's a tiny ex-Battle of Britain airport now with business flight for private planes with restricted flying hours.

Then at the beginning of this century, they tried to turn it into a commercial airport. This would have meant much noisier tourist flights landing all day & most of the night. Would this have been a "suck it up, you knew there was an airport there" situation? The local council took it to the courts and there are no commercial flights there to this day.

How many times has this happened?

A minor road has become a very busy road.

Countless. Countless times.

And invariable you can’t just stamp your feet and the road building stops!

@Sometimesfraught82

How many times has this happened?

A minor road has become a very busy road.

Countless. Countless times.

And invariable you can’t just stamp your feet and the road building stops!

Yes, but things must remain within the law. A road is a road, a noisy church is another matter.

We don't just allow/accept everything.

@LemonSwan

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

Me too! I’d get to see my old colleagues. I could ring them up and say. Fancy having a concert. Ooh. Who could we get to sing??

* Yes, but things must remain within the law. A road is a road, a noisy church is another matter.*

Agreed. However you brought up the road analogy, not me!

@alittlequinnie

I just wondered if things ever improved?

Thanks

I remember these threads, also wondering if things got better.

All sorts of permissions are needed to make a minor road into a major one. Noise and other disturbance to local people will always be taken into account before permission is given.

To cap this thread off, the SDA are gone! (2023). After a period of respite the Methodists then decided another church group could rent the church on Saturdays.
They also became very noisy (amplified band practice, abusive intimidating shouting...)
The Methodists then did the right thing and asked them to move on. Our right to peaceful enjoyment of property has been restored!
Thank you, to all, who offered encouragement and support to my DW for all the years we've suffered.

Thats brilliant. At last!!

Bit like moving next door to a nightclub and then complaining about music.

What are you talking about?

No it isn't.

I presume you haven't read the thread.

@HotDesertWind (are you the OP with a different name?) . thanks for the update.
That is great news, although not that it took so long.