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!

Yup I was ready with the eye roll and then I actually read the original thread @eve suggest you bother to do the same

You poor thing OP.

I read your original thread and YANBU (for the benefit of those who are now going to pile in here and assume OP is one of those people who moves next to a church then complains about bells that have chimed daily since 1472).

Glad there’s been some progress and that the council are involved (and taking it seriously). It won’t look good on the SDAs that they didn’t turn up to the meeting.

You also have my sympathy on the parking - I used to live near a church and the congregation parked wherever they pleased: resident only bays, double yellows, even across people’s drives. They claimed religious discrimination when people complained to the council

Oh boy, you probably should have updated on the original thread. Cue five pages of Eve style questions.

It sounds like they're doing the sum total of nothing. So cheeky for the SDA's not even to attend. It's also a shame your other neighbours didn't attend.

I think there were other suggestions on your original thread about speaking to an MP etc or actually just sending a legal letter. I'd do the latter at this point, things are going nowhere.

I remember your original thread. Others should read it before commenting.

I was hoping for a more positive update, hope you get somewhere with this as it sounds unbearable.

And from the original thread it's clear it's not just the worship. It's the parking, the people hanging around in the streets being noisy well after the service has finished and the fact the methodists who own the building aren't really bothered.

For those who can't be bothered to read the OP isn't just talking about some church bells on a Sunday morning.

Those of you eye rolling about OP and saying how lovely bells are REALLY need to read the original thread. This is not normal church noise; this is excessive noice for an excessive amount of time.

OP I hope the council can help you. It sounded intolerable.

FFS Eve why don't you bother to read the problem before diving in with your size 9s

I remember the original thread and it sounds awful. Hope you get somewhere.

Haha only half-way down the first page and can't believe the number of 'you moved next to a church and are complaining about the noise' 'I love the sound of church bells, me'

Does nobody read the OP's posts before banging on about something the thread isn't about?

I'd be tempted to hire huge speakers and direct rap music at the church every time they had a SDA service, drown them out. No, I wouldn't really, but it helps to fantasise about OTT revenge.

FFS Stop sticking your three pennies worth in if you haven't read the original thread. It's not difficult! I too remember your thread OP and I do hope you get things sorted, noise nuisance is so draining.

YANBU to provide an update 😊

Good luck.

I just looked on youtube to find a UK service of theirs but it wasn't very helpful. On this Peckham one on the hymn they seem to have speakers for the singers which if similar here (can we have a thread link?) might be noisy.

My son lives opposite a spiritualist church which means he does not have houses opposite so it's a plus not a minus but they seem to have about 10 people in the congregation and are as quiet as mice (probably because they are drumming up the dead or whatever they do).

You may need sound proofing or may need to move - that is often the only solution with these things but do sort out the parking eg buy some cones and put them out along the double yellows so that physically no one can park illegally on them.

Stop them parking across your garage by putting two chairs across it with a rope and a sign across that saying no parking. Buy yourself a fluorescent vest and on church days be out there looking offcial. Hand out flyers to the nearest official car parks and tell them it is consistent with 7th day adventist principles that people walk and are healthy (they eat very well by the way and scientists study them ).

Well, it is progress but very little. It's hard to believe it's taken so long to get to this stage, the council have been very poor. At the next meeting would it be useful to have your other neighbour, if they are up to it.

FFS op clearly says there is another thread.

Go read it before you start making assumptions.

If you cant be arsed, fine, but stop giving the OP shit.

I didn;t see you first thread, but did you move house knowing it was a church?

@peppaporkysandwich - if you bothered to read the thread you'd see that OP and her H have had to put up with a huge amount of noise at unsociable times from this church. Not just sinigng for an hour a week. Nothing to do with church bells ffs.

OP, I really sympathise. Sounds like the church is being completely useless and very unChristian. Can you speak to someone higher in the 7DA church and the methodist church?? Someone with more authority than the drippy minister? Perhaps the minister is keen not to lsoe the money the 7DAs bring to his church, but that is no excuse.

ffs @Aannnaa, rtft.

OP, I remmeber your other thread.

I'm glad the council seem to be taking this serious, but less impressive by the drip of a Methodist Minister and the SDAs not even bothering to show. I am getting the impression that it will take the Council playing hard ball (which it sounds like they will) to make any change.

The SDAs should be ashamed of themselves, calling themselves Christians.

did you move next door to a church or did it suddenly appear next to you? I would not imagine that a church would create noise nuisance even if it had been there 100 years before me, but there you go, a typical smug, and idiotic response from this increasingly dense community. Well done, very well done.

Hey OP.

I read your original thread. Glad the ball is finally rolling and hope you get a resolution soon x

Can (just about) understand when people don’t read the original thread, but when people can’t be bothered to read the CURRENT thread when it’s only two pages long...fgs.

It's really not appropriate to have the sort of religious services where people scream and make exhibitions of themselves in residential areas. Those churches on industrial estates not directly next to houses are far more suitable.

Thanks for update op and good luck.
I lived on a street where a fairly calm church turned into an evangelical church. Absolute nightmare for residents due to amplified music and very loud singing and speaking in voices type wailing etc.
Small narrow street heavy residents only parking etc.
Turned out on top of the noise the church was handing out residents visitor permits to the congregation for services so many residents were unable to park anywhere on the road a couple of times a week and all day Sunday. Uproar ensued and the council stopped that happening. Church very close to buses and tube etc.
I moved. I think it’s all quietened down but you have my sympathy.