Correct me if i'm wrong.....................................but

[nutcracker]

isn't screaming, shouting and banging noise ?????

I had a letter from environmental health this morning about my noisy neighbour.

It said that they will be contacting me to arrange for monitoring equipment to be installed, so that evidence can be gained, and legal action taken.
I will also be supplied with a number to ring out of hours for someone from eh to witness the noise.

Absolutly brilliant you may think. I did too until i read the following.

"I note from your diary sheets, that part of the noise problem is due to banging, screaming, and/or shouting. Whilst i understand that these noises can be distressing, no action can be taken with respects to these types of noises under the Environmental Protection Act 1990"

FFS Distressing, thats an understatement. I have had my kids frightened to go to bed because of the noise that stupid cow makes. My dd2 actually wet the bed a couple of times becasue of it.

Basically then if the monitering equiptment picks up shouting, banging or screaming it won't be any good.

I really don't understand this.

So it has to be noise from a TV/music etc rather than from a person? Sounds odd.

the legislation about constitutes nuisance noise is really complex. It's due for an overhaul.... Sorry, I know that doesn't make you feel any better right now.

What became of your meeting the other day with your MP? I don't know if you said!

message withdrawn

Zebra - The m.p is going to ring the H/A and the council. Not sure what she's going to say, but at least it will let them know that i'm not giving up without a fight.
She may also be contacting social services about the family upstairs as the womans 14 year old son once had to sleep on the landing outside the front door because his mom went on a bender and didn't come back until the following evening.

good for you, Nutty.

Just to explain, the noise is.....

Very loud screaming
Loud shouting
Banging doors and floor
Furniture being thrown around/smashed
Ornaments e.t.c. being smashed
Windows being smashed
Physical fighting

There have been 19 logged calls to police from our flat about her, and 10 from the flat below us.
We have filled in countless diary sheets and agreed to give evidence in court. The last time we called the police she was arrested but we can't find out if any charges were filed.
She has been served with a 'possession of property order' and the H/A have a year to enforce this, but can't do it without an independant witness i.e environmental health.

Should add... it was the case that noise had to be heard outside a property to be considered noise pollution (I kid you not). So it didn't matter what you could hear through the walls. The regs have been altered, somewhat, but I think they're still rather vague. I think you should try to forget about it until you can ring up and ask them to clarify what they would consider excess nuisance noise.

Stop paying your council tax

I would love to do that Suzy but i've only just got rid of years of arrears.

I think the H/A may be thinking that we may eventuyally take our own legal action. Well they are very much mistaken as we couldn't afford to.

Housing Associations are, I have found, completely useless. They move anti-social neighbours into their houses and then, as long as they are getting rent, they wipe their hands of any problems.

We're currently in a HA house and had problems with a neighbour. The HA took him to court with our evidence (three times). But, as the man was fairly old, the magistrates always seemed to deem him harmless - despite threats from him (in varying degrees of obscenity!) consistent, long term noise such as music and banging, etc. So, in our case, it wasn't neccesarily the HA, but the magistrates who were letting him off.
Eventually a 'quiet' word from my DH to him, did the trick, but we shouldn't have been put in a postition where we were forced to approach him like that.
I think it depends a lot on the evidence you can collect, and the effects it's having on your children. If it is all having an adverse effect on them, a letter from your doctor might work wonders....I can't see that any HA would like to see a possible law suit coming their way! (Would love to think they'd help in that case out of the goodness of their hearts, but it's hardly likely !)

Don't know how you do this, but what about going down the Anti-Social Behaviour route rather than noise pollution? I know my Council has put several ASBOs on people in the last year for various behaviours.

Davros - The H/A were going to put her on an ASBO but decided against it because they felt it wouldn't work. They also thought about getting her to sign an ABC anti-social behaviour contract, but to do this, she has to agree that she is in the wrong, which she won't. She is denying the whole thing.
I am going to ring the H/A on monday and tell them that as far as i am concerned myself and the girls below me, have done as much as we possibly can and that it is now up to them to get her out.
We want them to use the Police as their independant witness, but they are reluctant to do this for some reason.

God I hope you can sort it out. I'll pay more attention when I read the stories about ASBOs in the local paper and see if I can find out anything interesting. Sounds like a nightmare, poor you

Nutty, which housing assoc. is it.

DP has suggested called Birmingham's Anti-social Behaviour Hotline. THe number should be in the phone book.

Jan - It's Sanctuary Housing Association.
I didn't know that there was an anti-social behaviour hotline. I will have a look for the number tommorow. Thanks for letting me know

Nutty, I saw an article in our local paper this week and thought of you. This couple have just been evicted from their house for excessive noise, shouting and drunkeness. Clearly action can be taken for shouting as this seems to be the main thing mentioned in the article.

Thats interseting SD, those probs are exactly the same as what we are having. I will be showing that to my the estates manager. Thanks