Noise pollution frequently asked questions

General 
Noisy neighbours
Noise from commercial premises  
Alarms 
Fireworks  
Transport noise

   

General 
Can the police stop noise nuisance?
No. Powers to deal with noise are the responsibility of the council, but work is sometimes carried out in conjunction with the police. If the noise is causing you to be concerned about the safety of someone in a property, then you should alert the police.

Can I register a complaint anonymously?

You can, but in order for a statutory nuisance to be established and to take formal action to stop it, an officer must normally witness it from the affected premises. Your details will be kept confidential unless the case goes to court when your address will be disclosed in the investigating officers' statement of witness.

I received a warning letter; I would like to know who complained about me?

We are not able to reveal this information, as it is confidential and covered by the Data Protection Act.

Noisy neighbours
My neighbour has a party most weekends and makes a lot of noise, what can I do?

If the party occurs after 11pm on Friday or Saturday night, please call the out-of-hours service on (020) 8825 5000. Environmental heath officers' will try to visit the party and get the level of noise reduced or stopped. If the person(s) responsible for the party does not co-operate or if their noise causes a regular nuisance, officers will serve an abatement notice, prosecute or even confiscate equipment in accordance with the Council's statutory nuisance.

Can I involve the police if I have noisy neighbours?

No, the police have no duty to deal with noise unless it is due to anti-social behaviour such as violence or threatening behaviour. The responsibility for noise control lies with the local authority, but the work is sometimes carried out in conjunction with the police. If the noise is causing you to be concerned about the safety of someone in a property, then you should alert the police. 

My neighbour disturbs me with their loud music/TV/banging/shouting etc, what can I do?
Firstly, try to speak to your neighbour and discuss the problem; explain how your are affected. If this has no effect or if you do not feel comfortable approaching them directly, we can take the details from you. We will write to your neighbour (your details will remain confidential) explaining the nature of the complaint, We will send you a diary sheet to record dates and times of when your are disturbed. If the noise continues an officer will need to visit you to witness the noise. If a statutory nuisance is established, a noise abatement notice will be served on the person(s) responsible. In cases where the noise is due to a neighbour dispute, the Ealing Mediation Service (020) 8575 9500 can help resolve any problems.

My neighbour's dog keeps barking, What can I do?

Firstly, try to discuss this with your neighbour, tell them how this disturbs you. If this has no effect or you do not feel comfortable approaching them yourself, we can take the details from you. An officer will assess the noise in order to establish whether it constitutes a statutory nuisance. If  council officers are unable to witness a statutory nuisance, the Ealing Neighbour Mediation Service - (020) 8575 9500 may be able to help you sort this out with your neighbour.

My neighbour disturbs me with noise from walking on their wooden floors/hoovering/children running around. What can I do?
Normal use of premises such as this is not usually actionable by the environment health department. Firstly, try to discuss this with your neighbour, tell them how this disturbs you. If the flat is leasehold, there may be a clause, which states that suitable floor covering must be provided. Discuss this with your freeholder. If this has no effect or you do not feel comfortable approaching them yourself, we can take the details from you. Alternatively, the Ealing Neighbour Mediation Service on (020) 8575 9500 may be able to help you come to some arrangement with your neighbour. 

My neighbour disturbs me with DIY work. What can I do?
Firstly, try to discuss this with your neighbour, tell them how this disturbs you. If this has no effect, or if you do not feel comfortable approaching them directly, we will take the details from you. Alternatively, the Ealing Neighbour Mediation Service on (020) 8575 9500 may be able to help you come to some arrangement with your neighbour. 

What can I do about loud music from car stereos?
If it is persistent and you know whose car it is, try to speak to them directly. If this has no effect or if you do not feel comfortable doing this, we will take the details from you. An officer will investigate this matter, and if they witness a statutory nuisance they will take appropriate action to stop it happening again.

Noise from commercial premises
I am disturbed by noise from a nearby factory/shop/club etc. What can I do?
We will take the details from you and an officer will investigate and assess whether the noise amounts to a statutory nuisance. If appropriate, an abatement notice will be served on the business owners, requiring steps to be taken to stop the noise nuisance. 

There is a noisy building site nearby. What can I do?

We will take the details from you and an officer will investigate and check that the builder is complying with the relevant hours of operation, noise control measures etc. Normally building work is restricted to 8am–6pm Monday to Friday and 8am–1pm on a Saturday. No building work should be carried out on Sunday or bank holidays.

Alarms
Do I need to tell anyone about having a burglar alarm fitted?
The law requires that two keyholders be provided to the Metropolitan Keyholder Database . Free registration by calling 0800 197 7711 (lines open 8am-8pm Monday–Friday). You will also need to inform the council of keyholders. 

My neighbour's house alarm was going off last night for two hours. I want to make sure it doesn't happen again.
All alarms should be fitted with a 20 minute cut-out device. If this was happening for two hours, the alarm may be faulty. A warning letter can be sent to the occupiers of the property about the action that the council may take if it happens again and if a nuisance is witnessed by an environmental health officer. If it happens again you should contact us while the alarm is sounding.

There's an alarm going off next door and I think the residents are away on holiday. Can the council stop the alarm?
Environmental health officers will contact key holders first and ask them to attend to the alarm. Alternatively they may have to obtain a warrant to break into the property to disable the alarm. The property will be left properly secured. Any costs incurred (ie locksmith's charges etc) will have to be paid by the owner or occupier. 

There is a car alarm going off, can it be stopped?

Car alarms should cut out after five minutes.

If it continues for longer, an officer can get it turned off or in some instances have the vehicle towed away. We need the make, model and colour of vehicle, and the registration number, and an officer will proceed to get it silenced.

Fireworks
Fireworks on Guy Fawkes n ight is a nuisance, what can I do?
There are now laws in place to protect communities from the misuse of fireworks. The police are now responsible for enforcing the laws related to misuse of fireworks. Breaking the law by committing any of the following offences carries a £5000 fine or six months in prison:

Throwing fireworks or setting off fireworks in public places

Possession of 'adult fireworks' by anyone under the age of 18 in a public place (except cracker snap, novelty matches, party popper, serpents and throwdowns). Possession of category four fireworks (public display fireworks) by anyone other than a fireworks professional

Curfew on fireworks use
It is an offence for any person to use 'adult fireworks' between the hours of 11pm and 7am except for 'permitted' fireworks nights. These exceptions where the curfew start times is later are as follows:

The police are also able to punish offenders immediately with on-the-spot fines of £80 penalty notices for disorder (PNDs).

Metropolitan Police - General number for all stations in Ealing borough: (020) 8810 1212

Other Metropolitan Police station numbers:

Acton – (020) 8896 1212

Southall – (020) 8574 1212


If somebody has fireworks on a regular basis throughout the year, this may amount to a statutory nuisance, in which case environmental health could serve a noise abatement notice on the person responsible.

Transport noise
There are road repairs nearby going on at night. What can I do?
It is likely that the work is done at night because the road could not be closed during the day. We will take the details from you and an officer will investigate to check if the appropriate measures are being used to minimise noise levels. 

I am frequently disturbed by aircraft noise/railway noise/traffic noise. Can I do anything?
We will take the details from you and pass to an environmental health officer who will investigate. Road traffic noise may be due to the volume or type of traffic using a road or due to problems with the road surface. Enquiries or complaints should be made to the Transport Department on (020) 8825 6446.  

I am sometimes woken up at night by aircraft noise. What are the restrictions on night time flights over Ealing?
Planes should not be flying between 11.30pm and 6.30am. (There are exceptions for flights that are delayed and cannot wait until the morning.)

There is some repair works going on along the railway line nearby. The works start late at night and continue until early morning. What can I do?
For safety reasons the work can only be carried out when the power is turned off, which happens for a few hours through the night. We will take the details from you and an officer will check with the contractor that any works that can be safely done during the day, are not done at night and that the necessary measures are taken to minimise disturbance.

People on the street disturb me late at night when they have left a nearby pub/club. What can I do?Noise from people on the street is not actionable by the environmental health department, however, if the problem is persistent, you could raise an objection to the pub/clubs licence renewal. Further advice is available from the council's licensing team on (020) 8825 6655.