Neighbours and unreasonable noise complaint.

Neighbours and unreasonable noise complaint.

Author
Discussion

Pebbles167

Original Poster:

3,417 posts

151 months

Monday 30th March 2015
quotequote all
A factory behind my row of houses was built last year, and has recently installed a fan unit which supposedly creates a large amount of noise, and is running 24/7.

A few members in the street have been in contact with the factory who agreed to lessen the noise.

Apparently, this still isn't quiet enough and they have now involved the council with a formal complaint and are after signarures from street residents.

When I mentioned that I couldn't hear it, I was told that it was probably because I slept with my windows shut, and that if I had them open I'd find it very noisy.

Thing is, I work nights and often come home early (anytime from 00:00 to 07:00) and on several occasions I have specifically walked across the small green to where the factory is to hear this noise. It's absolute nonsense.

The noise is exceptionally quiet, I'm not sure if this is a result of the factory staff efforts to quieten the fan down ir not, but it's not an issue, at least not to me. I'm 25 with excellent hearing and I'd be surprised if the middle aged residents in the street could hear it better than me. One more house in the row is in agreement with me, it's not at all loud.

My dilemma, not sure if I should even call it that, is what to do. On one hand, I'm pretty well liked in the cul de sac and I know I won't be if I don't sign the complaint form with the majority. But on the other hand I refuse to complain about something which I feel would be unfair, as it really isn't a problem. I'm used to getting on with things, and I hate unnecessary whinging.

Please PH friends, provide advice.

Regards,

Pebbles smile

supertouring

2,228 posts

232 months

Monday 30th March 2015
quotequote all
I would get everyone who is signing the petition to all stand outside and see if they experience the same sound levels. You may then understand their issue.

Pebbles167

Original Poster:

3,417 posts

151 months

Monday 30th March 2015
quotequote all
That's not a bad idea, but the noise of passing traffic on the road 100m away drowns out the noise as it's louder.

I'll bear this idea in mind when I'm asked to sign, as they (neighbours) have not yet been to my house but likely will in the next couple of weeks.

S70JPS

619 posts

219 months

Monday 30th March 2015
quotequote all
Good point from the above poster. I have a workshop where we run aircraft cockpit instruments. Some customers say how do you put up with the noise others don't say a thing. I've had the levels checked and they are fine with no ppe. However boy did I know it when one of my guys ran an instrument up next to my office.

Pebbles167

Original Poster:

3,417 posts

151 months

Monday 30th March 2015
quotequote all
Leader of the complaint has just been to my door.

I have refused to sign until i have been for another listen with both he, and the neighbours that like me, can't hear a thing.

Funkycoldribena

7,379 posts

153 months

Monday 30th March 2015
quotequote all
Even if you do sign it there will be something else next year.Theres a lot of people out there that see complaining as a pastime.

Mr GrimNasty

8,172 posts

169 months

Monday 30th March 2015
quotequote all
Just because you can't hear it/don't find it annoying does not mean that it isn't ruining the life of other people. Sound can be highly directional, focused on a point or multiple points, be like light and shadow, and people's hearing also varies enormously (especially at the thresholds and at specific, especially low frequencies) such that it might be invisible to you and loud to someone else, despite you both having 'normal' hearing.

rs1952

5,247 posts

258 months

Monday 30th March 2015
quotequote all
The Council we be as even-handed about it as possible. Just because somebody complains, or a group of people petition, about noise, it doesn't mean that the Council will believe their side of the story.

There are various things that the Council can or may do. They could ask the complainants to keep logs of incidents, or they could install noise monitoring equipment.

However, if we take your side of the story at face value, it probably won't even get that far. They will start by sending somebody around to take a look and a listen. And if that person was to come to the conclusion that the noise wasn't worth bothering about, the Council would take no action other then writing to the complainants saying they weren't going to take action.

Your neighbours will then complain that the fecking Council is a waste of fecking space because they won't do anything about the fecking cacophony they have to put up with, by applying the following universal rules:

1. The Council can do nothing right
2. When the Council does do something right, rule 1 applies

Over the 27 years I have lived here I have been asked to sign a number of petitions from local residents. If I didn't agree with what they are petitioning about I tell 'em, and they are all still on speaking terms (except the ones that moved away wink ) so I shouldn't worry unduly about that.

The only caveat I would add is - have you had your hearing checked lately?

smile

Retroman

961 posts

132 months

Monday 30th March 2015
quotequote all
I'd feel similar to the OP.

I wouldn't want complain about the noise levels if there wasn't anything to complain about but at the same time i wouldn't want to annoy all my neighbors by not standing with them.

If you have a smart phone you can download some very crude apps that will get a rough reading on the DB range.
Not very accurate but you could perhaps use it to show your neighbors that the noise level is quieter than other noises that occur there.

Pebbles167

Original Poster:

3,417 posts

151 months

Monday 30th March 2015
quotequote all
Ok, so I have just had a big group of residents together, and a few things have emerged.

The petition is to try and stop this company from running their loud fan 24/7, which is the company's intent. Currently they are running it 06:00 to 22:00. I had previously been told that it was already running at all hours, hence why I didn't hear anything on my 3am expeditions over to the factory.

There is a definite noise. I can faintly hear it from outside my house but further down the row, and especially in an elevated position such as their bedroom, it is quite intrusive. It sounds very similar to a loud humming fan with debris constantly coming into contact with the blades. This is basically what it is, in fact.

The planning the company gained, was to build a 'warehouse' not another of their printing areas. On this basis supposedly they are not using the premises for their claimed purpose.

Their was previously another petition to stop the building ever being built, as it's very close to the houses and blocks sunlight to the gardens (it does) from the suns 2pm position onwards. This petition was around the time I moved in and so I didn't get told about it. Although most residents complained, they didn't win the case.

From all this, I decided it is unacceptable, despite not actually bothering me too much (heavy sleeper) I signed the petition.

Thanks for all the words of advice,

Regards,

Pebbles smile

Corpulent Tosser

5,459 posts

244 months

Tuesday 31st March 2015
quotequote all
If you don't think it is a problem then don't sign, however be aware there could be repercussions.

Years ago we lived in a village and I refused to sign a petition against a change to a road layout, I though it would make the road safer.

The husband of the main petitioner blanked me in the pub, we got a frosty reception from several other locals and the main petitioner never spoke to us again.

photosnob

1,339 posts

117 months

Tuesday 31st March 2015
quotequote all
Corpulent Tosser said:
If you don't think it is a problem then don't sign, however be aware there could be repercussions.

Years ago we lived in a village and I refused to sign a petition against a change to a road layout, I though it would make the road safer.

The husband of the main petitioner blanked me in the pub, we got a frosty reception from several other locals and the main petitioner never spoke to us again.
Such a shame to not have the social company of such delightful people.

I've decided I'm antisocial. I'd rather have my own company that the artificial niceness of people I can't stand.

CallorFold

831 posts

132 months

Tuesday 31st March 2015
quotequote all
Can't be too expensive to buy a decibel meter these days? It's an easy way of ensuring a relatively fair test where an individuals hearing isn't called into question.

rumpelstiltskin

2,805 posts

258 months

Tuesday 31st March 2015
quotequote all
I was wondering why i couldn't sleep last night,is that what it was,that bloody fan!!Im up in central Scotland i can hear it clear as a bell,and well all know how bloody annoying that bell was.

Drumroll

3,738 posts

119 months

Tuesday 31st March 2015
quotequote all
noise is very subjective, we nearly all hear noises differently. We used to live near a railway line. The trains going by never used to bother me but when they weren't running though I always new.

All that jazz

7,632 posts

145 months

Wednesday 1st April 2015
quotequote all
Pebbles167 said:
Ok, so I have just had a big group of residents together, and a few things have emerged.

The petition is to try and stop this company from running their loud fan 24/7, which is the company's intent. Currently they are running it 06:00 to 22:00. I had previously been told that it was already running at all hours, hence why I didn't hear anything on my 3am expeditions over to the factory.

There is a definite noise. I can faintly hear it from outside my house but further down the row, and especially in an elevated position such as their bedroom, it is quite intrusive. It sounds very similar to a loud humming fan with debris constantly coming into contact with the blades. This is basically what it is, in fact.
There's no debris coming into contact with blades. As you've said it's a print works, what it actually is is the offcuts of the printed material being blown along the tubes which - depending on the size of the plant - eventually lead to a compactor that shoves it into ro-ro skip or gets blown into the back of a sheeted tipper trailer. The rattling noise that can be heard is all the offcuts of paper clattering about in the pipes and the loud humming is of course the fans that blow it along.

hidetheelephants

23,772 posts

192 months

Wednesday 1st April 2015
quotequote all
It doesn't take much for a noise to be irritating and keep people awake; when in halls of residence my room faced a university-owned science park/commercial spin-off thing and one of the buildings there had a rattly A/C unit. The building was a good 300m away but on nights when there was little or no wind I could not sleep with my window open without using either earplugs or 10 pints of fizzy lager.