Noise
We hope you find the information here useful and informative.
Our aim is to help maintain a safe, healthy noise environment for
all those living or working in Harlow. Environmental Health
Services provide a wide range of services in respect of noise and
employ highly qualified officers with specific expertise in this
area.
There is no such thing as total
silence in this world, other than specifically built soundproof
rooms and wherever you live you will always be able to hear some
kind of background noise.
Noise is often defined as ‘unwanted
sound’. What constitutes ‘Noise’ is a very personal matter; one
person’s favourite music might well be another person’s unwanted
sound. We usually become involved in noise matters when a complaint
is received. We then have a duty to investigate and have to decide
if any action is possible. We try to resolve noise complaints
informally if possible, but have legal powers to take formal action
if necessary in many cases.
There are many different types of
noise that affect us but the Council is not able to deal with them
all. We are, for example, able to deal with matters such as
excessively loud music played for prolonged periods, unreasonable
noise from commercial or industrial premises and burglar alarms
sounding for long periods. Unfortunately we cannot deal with others
such as babies crying, people arguing, children playing, slamming
doors, occasional dog barking, footsteps on stairs and other
‘normal’ domestic activities & day-to-day living sounds.
For more information on
specific noise problems, please click the appropriate menu item on
the left.