Our investigation procedure

Your confidentiality when making a complaint

All complaints are dealt with confidentially. We will not disclose your details to anyone.

While we will keep your details confidential, we do need to know your name and address to gather evidence of your complaint.

Most complaints can be dealt with without the need to go to court, but if this should be the case, we may ask you to appear as a witness in the court proceedings.

What happens when you make a nuisance complaint

Once you have made a complaint, a case officer will contact you to discuss the problem further. The officer may decide to send an initial informal letter to the perpetrator to advise of the complaint received.

They will also ask you to complete diary record sheets to allow the officer to assess the situation. This evidence is a crucial part of your complaint.

If the problem persists after we have written to those responsible, the case officer will arrange to visit your property to assess your complaint.

You must carry on completing your diary record sheets throughout your case. They will be used to determine whether the issue you are experiencing can be classed as a statutory nuisance.

Keeping diary record sheets

We will ask you to keep diary records of the times and days you are being disturbed by the noise. These diary records should be completed over 28 days and then returned to the case officer for assessment.

Diary record sheets are an important source of evidence. They enable the case officer to establish some basic facts about the nuisance.

Once the diary sheets have been completed and reviewed by the officer, they will decide on the next steps. This can include the sending of a more formal letter to the perpetrator. In the case of noise nuisance, we can also install noise recording equipment.

In determining whether the issue is a ‘statutory nuisance’, we will have to consider:

• the type of nuisance
• how often it occurs
• how long it lasts for
• the times that it occurs

In some cases, it becomes necessary to serve an Abatement Notice under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 requiring the nuisance to be stopped or reduced within a reasonable time scale.

Your case officer will keep you updated on the progress of your case.

If the diary record sheets are not completed and returned within the agreed time, no further action will be taken, and the case will be closed.

Significant nuisance during office hours

Contact your investigating officer if you experience significant disturbance during regular office hours. They or another member of the team may be able to visit your home and witness the nuisance.