Noise is a common source of nuisance and can be very upsetting. Environmental Health Services investigate complaints and can use enforcement powers in some cases to try to help.
With the introduction of the Anti Social Behaviour (Scotland) Act 2004, local authorities have additional powers to deal with noisy neighbours. Officers from the Council have powers to serve Warning Notices or Fixed Penalty Notices (FPN) on neighbours who persistently exceed the acceptable noise levels. The powers are most likely to be used in relation to loud music or from televisions and persistent DIY, but can in certain circumstances be used for barking dogs.
Permitted Noise Levels
There are three new permitted noise levels:
| Time of day | Specific hours of day | Noise level |
|---|---|---|
| Daytime | 07:00 - 19:00 (7.00am - 7.00pm) |
LAeq 41dB |
| Evening | 19:00 - 23:00 (7.00pm - 11.00pm) |
LAeq 37dB |
| Night | 23:00 - 07:00 (11.00pm - 7.00am) |
LAeq 31dB |
Unwanted sound can have a significant impact upon environmental quality, public health and amenity. This supplementary planning guidance is to provide developers with information on dealing with the planning process where noise sensitive developments are planned near to existing noise sources, or where potentially noisy developments are introduced into existing noise sensitive areas.
Environmental Services will also respond to complaints of noise from commercial and industrial operations affecting residents in their homes, including entertainment noise from pubs and clubs.
You can report any noise concerns using the Environmental Health issues form.