Return
<<Back to Case Studies
A gentleman in his mid-70’s was placing huge demand on the Public Service Centre with continuous reports about noise coming from his next-door neighbour. He claimed the noise was occurring at all times of the day and it was keeping him awake and affecting his health. The victim wasn’t reporting the alleged noise issue at the time it was happening but instead would contact Police the following day.
Whilst noise matters without any aggravating factors are dealt with by the Local Authority Environmental Health Department, Shared Regulatory Services, or the housing association if appropriate, this matter was brought to the attention of the Anti-social Behaviour Victims Officer from Rhondda Cynon Taf Council. They carried out a Risk Assessment which identified the victim as Medium Risk.
Due to the level of risk, police attended the address to speak to the victim about the noise issues he was experiencing. The neighbour was also spoken to about their behaviour and actions in the property. The victim was asked to install The Noise App on his mobile phone to capture the noise nuisance however he struggled to use it and couldn’t capture the noise when it was occurring.
The noise issues were continuing so a multi-agency meeting was set up with representatives from Rhondda Cynon Taf Community Safety Partnership and South Wales Police where it was agreed that the council would install noise monitoring equipment at the victims’ address. This was completed on two different occasions.
On reviewing the recordings, no noise concerns were recorded. The noise was day to day living noise which included the neighbours talking and the sound of gaming devices. No statutory noise nuisance or anti-social behaviour was identified.
In an attempt to understand the noise issues and resolve the problem for the victim, both parties agreed to mediation. Mediation is a well-established set of steps and stages that help people communicate, problem solve and resolve issues by focusing on impact instead of blame. Mediators are impartial and provide empathic support for both parties in a full and fair process.
Mediation proved successful on this occasion and the gentleman’s issue was resolved by gaining an understanding and acceptance of lifestyles, different daily living noises and the design of the properties. The victim resides alone and very rarely has visitors to his home. The neighbour is a mother with a teenage son who enjoys playing gaming devices. The set up of both properties meant that the victim and teenage son’s bedroom share a thin party wall, allowing them to hear each other. The teenager told the victim that he was often disturbed by his snoring.
As a result, there is a better relationship between the neighbours and no further noise issues have been reported.
