Is this neighbour being unreasonable

[myboysmum]

Bit of back ground - we live in a semi detached bungalow and my partner and I moved here nearly 2 years ago. Our neighbour's on the side that is not attached to us are elderly, I've only seen the husband once as think he's housebound but the wife goes out daily in her car. Their driveway is directly next to our front door on the side of the house (we don't have a driveway) but there is a 6' fence between so nothing can been seen. She never speaks to me and if I see her and say Good morning she just grunts. She has spoken to my partner a couple of times.

Not long after moving in, our outside porch light broke. It was only 2 weeks ago that we decided to replace it. Our new one is bigger and brighter than our other one but it is not a security light so does not come on automatically when it detects motion. We put it on as and when we need it but this is only when somebody knocks on the door or leaves the house and if my partner goes outside to smoke so it's maybe on 3 times in an evening for 5 minutes at a time.

On Thursday we received a letter from the council saying our neighbour had complained about a bright light coming from our house. She had not bothered to knock on our door to mention it, if she had we would have happily replaced the bulb with a lower wattage. I replied to the council explaining it was our porch light and wasn't on very much at all, I haven't received a reply from them yet. Since receiving the letter 2 days ago we have only switched it on once when my sister left the house after visiting so it was maybe on for 30 seconds.
Today we have now had a visit from the police about the light 😯 saying it was shining in their bathroom and they did not have a curtain.

Why would they not have a blind or curtain at their bathroom window, is she running to her bathroom every 5 minutes to check to see if the lights on.

Is this harassment ? Does anybody know if there are any laws regarding lighting on your own property.

I have sent another email to the council informing them of our police visit and suggested they tell her to get a curtain.

They also have a light outside which comes on when it detects motion and that actually shines in our kitchen window. It also has a constant red light as there is a camera attached I think, it isn't bright but can be seen from our window

So what should I do - continue using the light as I do now or not. Should I put a lower wattage bulb in ?

His smoke will get in easily even without windows open. Older windows aren’t airtight, modern ones have vents. Exhaust vents also key smells in.

Re the light I would just put a camera to record when it is on/off and forget about it. If it’s only shining into their bathrooms it’s not like it’s going to disturb her.

Do you think a relative of theirs might be a police officer and they've somehow wangled it to go round there? It doesn't make any sense whatsoever (although as @rainypuddles will sadly tell you, these things never do).

@Scarzo

*Your neighbours have behaved unreasonably, for sure. But maybe try and put yourselves in their shoes?

They are elderly, he is housebound and she presumably is caring for him? This could well be a struggle for your neighbour and she might be mentally and physically knackered. A small thing, like a light shining into your house, can seem like a much bigger deal than it actually is, in this situation.

Why not just change the light and apologise for inconveniencing them? Be kind.

Why the need to get your own back by complaining about the seagulls? Is it actually causing you problems? It seems a bit spiteful and unnecessary.

I'm sure your neighbours are not horrible people. Why*

The voice of reason....

That was meant to be in bold but something went horrible wrong :)

Our old neighbours used to stand out the front smoking. Our house stank of smoke even with the windows shut.

Her car must be wrecked if she’s feeding seagulls off of it.

”Our old neighbours used to stand out the front smoking. Our house stank of smoke even with the windows shut.”

I’ve had this too. Horrible horrible, and so inconsiderate. Presumably he goes out to smoke in order to keep the pollution out of his own house.

Why does the 'be kind' always seem to only go one way? The neighbour wasn't very 'kind' in not even bringing the light issue to OPs attention, council and police straight away? Will this not also now be classed as a dispute that needs to be declared if either party wish to sell?

”Will this not also now be classed as a dispute that needs to be declared if either party wish to sell?”

Only if it’s still unresolved at the time of selling, I believe.

It would be a lot simpler to change the lightbulb than move house.

as she puts food on top of her car to feed the seagulls

Given the damage this would cause to a car, this seems an unlikely thing to do purposefully.

didn’t know it is illegal to feed seagulls

Because it isn’t.

Today we have now had a visit from the police about the light

It's certainly evident that the police force in some areas has nothing to do! Do you live in zero crime area? Absolutely unbelievable, especially given the fact that there are so many complaints about their shortage of staff and lack of funding to hire more police resources!

You say the husband is housebound.

He could have breathing problems and she is scared the smoke will make them worse.

He may also have trouble sleeping

Change the bulb and smoke somewhere else

Kindness costs nothing and it could be you are your husband who are old and vulnerable one day

”Today we have now had a visit from the police about the light.”
”It's certainly evident that the police force in some areas has nothing to do!”

The OP received what appears to have been an Abatement Notice and didn’t comply. Presumably if the Abatement Notice had been complied with, there wouldn’t have been a visit from the police.

www.gov.uk/guidance/artificial-light-nuisances-how-councils-deal-with-complaints