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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

AIBU to tell you that I'm "Church Noise Lady" and I think it might finally be over....

73 replies

alittlequinnie · 22/05/2023 13:41

I posted a thread on here before Covid about the excessive noise at the church directly opposite my house.

There were varied opinions but I had quite a lot of sympathy as it was a 7th Day Adventist service on a Saturday with amplified preaching, a full day of services and about 80-100 people hanging around in the street from 9.30 am to 6.30 pm every Saturday of the year. The preaching was loud enough to be heard inside my house even with the windows shut - yet alone the music.

Just to update - we had a Council meeting and it was attended by the Methodist Church (who were renting the Church to the 7DA on Saturdays) and the Council but not the 7DA.

We agreed a way forward and they put signs up about being respectful to neighbours etc but nothing really changed.

We were just getting ready to engage the Council again when Covid hit and the Church was closed.

When it re-opened last year things went from bad to worse and we were faced with all the same issues again.

I emailed the Council and found an email address for the Church Secretary and emailed the Council for advice and copied in the Church Secretary. (I also copied in the main Methodist Minister for the area - who had been at the initial meeting)

Was expecting a long road of noise diaries etc and probably no response from the Council but I got a response from both - the most surprising one was from the Church Secretary - who said that she had had no idea that there were ongoing complaints still and that nobody had told her.

It seems that we were talking to the person who opened the Church doors etc and to the people at the 7DA but nobody was actually passing this on!

Long story short - the 7DA Lease has ended and the Methodist Church is not renewing it.

They are having a coffee and cake morning for the "neighbours" - there's only 3 of us - to formally apologise for the last 11 years!

I often see my thread mentioned so wanted to update - and also to give some encouragement to anybody going through the same thing.

OP posts:
RitaCrudgington · 22/05/2023 14:20

Congratulations OP. I remember thinking at the time (can't remember whether I posted) that going up the Methodist chain of command was probably the answer but didn't imagine that you'd get such a definitive outcome.
Enjoy your cake, and many peaceful Saturdays sunbathing in your back garden.

Peachlollipop · 22/05/2023 14:27

Thanks for updating. I remember your thread. Great outcome.

LarkLane · 22/05/2023 14:34

My goodness! Well done you for finally getting a result after all this time. I remember your thread. They were awful people. Shocking that it's taken all this time to get a result. I think you deserve more than tea and biscuits, I do hope that your life is much more peaceful going forward.

LudicrouslyCapaciousBag · 22/05/2023 14:36

I remember your thread - and the patient explanations required to explain the differences between 7DA worship compared to the church experiences that many posters on your thread imagined. Glad you have had a positive outcome.

Rainbowshine · 22/05/2023 14:41

I think I would use the coffee and cake event as an opportunity to ask questions about how they will monitor users of the venue from now on and also ensure that there is a good process for complaints to be escalated and addressed in the future. Don’t let them think that a bit of Victoria sponge absolves it all!

Freshlycutgrasss · 22/05/2023 14:43

I remember your thread. Im so glad it is now sorted (& you updated us!)

SirSamVimesCityWatch · 22/05/2023 14:56

Oh I remember you!! So glad it seems to be sorted. You must be so relieved!

Allergictoironing · 22/05/2023 15:04

LudicrouslyCapaciousBag · 22/05/2023 14:36

I remember your thread - and the patient explanations required to explain the differences between 7DA worship compared to the church experiences that many posters on your thread imagined. Glad you have had a positive outcome.

Same with me. People automatically assuming you were newcomers to an area complaining about "normal" church bells, and somehow missing the info regarding the actual volume, how long it would go on for, the noise late at night outside your house, the fact that it was only when this one particular group started using the church that the problems started.....

So happy for you that it's finally been resolved 😀

Wonnle · 22/05/2023 15:08

Praise the Lord !

cstaff · 22/05/2023 15:09

Wow I cant believe that your thread was over 3 years ago. Covid really did make us all lose part of our lives.

Brilliant outcome. You must be so relieved.

TattiePants · 22/05/2023 15:18

Thanks for the update as I also remember your thread. I’m so pleased that it’s finally resolved.

Original poster
alittlequinnie · 22/05/2023 15:22

Rainbowshine · 22/05/2023 14:41

I think I would use the coffee and cake event as an opportunity to ask questions about how they will monitor users of the venue from now on and also ensure that there is a good process for complaints to be escalated and addressed in the future. Don’t let them think that a bit of Victoria sponge absolves it all!

Yes - absolutely - that is the first thing we are going to ask them to explain!

OP posts:
EmmaEmerald · 22/05/2023 15:23

piedbeauty · 22/05/2023 13:44

I remember you! Great news, but wtf has it taken so long to be resolved?!

This
it is incredibly frustrating and bizarre that the key people in situations like this are just absent. Like an absent freeholder for example.

Redebs · 22/05/2023 15:23

That's excellent news.
With this kind of issue, it's unusual to get a good result, I would think.

Long may you enjoy peaceful and respectful neighbours.

My daughter has a church like this next to her and Saturdays are often noisy. The car parking is dreadful too. The amplified singing and drums are bad enough, but sometimes churchgoers yell things in the street randomly. You can be chilling in your garden and have someone scream "YES! HE IS RISEN" and a bunch of others join in repeating it enthusiastically. There is a sense that the churchgoers feel superior to local residents, which is a shame and does nothing for community spirit.

Original poster
alittlequinnie · 22/05/2023 15:24

Puzzledandpissedoff · 22/05/2023 14:18

the 7DA Lease has ended and the Methodist Church is not renewing it

Excellent news, OP; I remember your thread very well and am so pleased for you (just so long as the methodists don't rent it out to another such group!! Shock)

Oh, and with something this contentious it beggars belief that the complaints "hadn't been passed on" - far more likely they're just pretending not to have known, but at least it should be over now

Yes - we think so too. I think it was either the fact that I was bringing it up with the Council again that spurred them into submission - or that the Lease was ending.

It turns out as well that for the last year or so the 7DA have just been given keys to the Church so nobody knew when they were there late, or on Sunday afternoons too - or that they were not packing up and leaving at 4 o'clock as they were supposed to!

I suspect a bit of "oh it'll blow over" has been used along the way.

OP posts:
Original poster
alittlequinnie · 22/05/2023 15:26

Redebs · 22/05/2023 15:23

That's excellent news.
With this kind of issue, it's unusual to get a good result, I would think.

Long may you enjoy peaceful and respectful neighbours.

My daughter has a church like this next to her and Saturdays are often noisy. The car parking is dreadful too. The amplified singing and drums are bad enough, but sometimes churchgoers yell things in the street randomly. You can be chilling in your garden and have someone scream "YES! HE IS RISEN" and a bunch of others join in repeating it enthusiastically. There is a sense that the churchgoers feel superior to local residents, which is a shame and does nothing for community spirit.

Yes - it's so hard to imagine what it's really like until you are there! I feel her pain :(

OP posts:
Redebs · 22/05/2023 15:33

I used to walk past places like this and think how lovely that people would be praising and celebrating their culture, but when you live nearby and it goes on and on with no respect for the local community, you see it in a different light.

DonttouchthatLarry · 22/05/2023 15:33

I remember your posts - that's really good news, well done for complaining and getting the desired outcome 😊

EmmaEmerald · 22/05/2023 15:36

Redebs · 22/05/2023 15:33

I used to walk past places like this and think how lovely that people would be praising and celebrating their culture, but when you live nearby and it goes on and on with no respect for the local community, you see it in a different light.

Wow, if I ever walk past this I start running away!

Pringleface · 22/05/2023 15:37

How funny, I thought about your original threads just the other day. Great to hear that it’s been resolved, that must be a huge relief for you all.

mathanxiety · 22/05/2023 15:41

I remember your thread!

Very happy for you and your neighbours.

Catspyjamas17 · 22/05/2023 15:45

Well done. People running/designing churches can be thoughtless.

The methodist church was rebuilt recently in our village, the previous one was your standard 19th century affair. This is a small village, somewhere that doesn't even have streetlights. In the winter for evening services it looks like a bloody nightclub as there is a great big window with big panels of primary coloured stained glass, and it's just so ridiculously much brighter than any of the light from little cottages or anything around it, it's so gaudy. Would be fine in a town but it just looks out of place here. It's not the on the same level with noise and parking but I do feel for the people who live opposite.

Iwasafool · 22/05/2023 15:52

I remember your thread, so pleased to hear the outcome. Enjoy the coffee and cake, you deserve it.

duchessofginlane · 22/05/2023 15:56

So where will the 7DA hold their services now? Maybe they need to find a building to rent on some industrial estate where no residents will be troubled by the noise!

Jux · 22/05/2023 15:56

I remember you too! What a great result, well done.

Can't believe it's been 11 years!

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