It’s a noisy world

"Noise doesn't kill you, in the sense that you're not going to hear a loud noise and drop down dead," says the head of City of York Council's environment protection unit.

"But it can have a significant impact on your health and the quality of your life."

People deprived of sleep by noise cannot function properly in the day, he says - and that is equally true of children and adults.

"You're not going to go to school next day and learn much," Mike says. "And you're not going to be able to go to work and do your job.

"There are cases of people who have been exposed to noise who have been sacked because they couldn't do their job properly."

Health can suffer, too.

"People suffer from stress, which can have a negative impact on health. It can cause depression, and if you are ill already, it can exacerbate other health problems."

Mike takes noise seriously. And so he should. As head of the council's environmental protection unit, he is also in charge of the city's "noise patrol" - the team of council officers on hand every Friday and Saturday from 9pm to 3am to deal with calls about nuisance noise.

As The Press revealed yesterday, complaints about noise nuisance made to the council have risen for the third year in succession.

There are a number of reasons for this.

Thanks to greater public awareness of the work the noise patrol do, people are more likely to call for help.

Extended licensing hours also led to an increase in noise complaints. And, as The Press revealed yesterday, the smoking ban which came into force this summer has led to yet another increase.

The problem often arises when drinkers leave the pub to stand outside and have a cigarette, Mike explains.

"They might be talking to a friend, hanging around outside. Maybe a friend comes out with a drink. They may be talking, or singing, or shouting. And as they go in or out of the pub the noise from inside comes out."

It is easy to underestimate how distressing such a noise can be, Mike says. Waiting for the next burst of noise can be stressful - especially late at night.

Mike's team will also respond to noise complaints during the week. If there is a regular noise nuisance on a weekday evening - a pub karaoke event, for example - he can arrange for an officer to investigate.

If it is an intermittent problem - a dog barking loudly, or a neighbour sometimes playing loud music late into the night - the council can arrange for recording equipment to be left.

Most problems occur on Friday and Saturday nights, which is when the noise patrol takes off.

A two-man team patrols parts of the city known for being noisy. On particularly busy nights, a third team member will man the telephone lines in the office, ready to take complaints. The patrol team can then respond immediately.

It is important teams work in pairs, Mike stresses - for their own safety, as much as anything.

"We will be sending officers out into the dark, sometimes to less desirable areas of the city."

When a complaint call comes in, the staff member in the control room will do a risk assessment.

That will involve checking whether the person being complained about has a criminal record. "It is not unusual for people who have been causing a noise nuisance to have been engaging in criminal activity," Mike says.

If there is thought to be any risk, the noise patrol will ask for police back-up before they go knocking on doors.

The first point of call will be the home of the person who complained, says Mike.

The enforcement officers will then try to assess the level of noise and how much it is affecting the person who complained.

"We look at whether it is stopping them being able to have a conversation in their own home; whether it is stopping them being able to read a book or watch TV; whether it is stopping them being able to sleep."

If the team decides the noise is loud enough to register as a statutory nuisance, they can issue the person causing it with a noise abatement notice.

That requires the person to stop making the noise, Mike says. If they continue to do so afterwards, the council can seize equipment - such as sound systems, CD players, TVs - that might be making the noise. And if necessary, they can prosecute.

Individuals taken to court for breach of a noise abatement notice can face a fine of up to £5,000. Commercial businesses, such as pubs, can face a fine of up to £20,000.

In the 18 months since the noise patrol was launched, it has dealt with almost 1,200 complaints - more than half concerning noise from a neighbour.

Noise patrol officers have visited more than 800 incidents and have often been able to hear for themselves the racket being complained about.

As a result, they have issued 114 noise abatement notices since the patrols began.

Government funding for the noise patrol service runs out from the end of March next year.

If Whitehall can't be persuaded to extend its initial funding, the city council will have to find money from its own tightly-stretched budget to keep the service going.

Council bosses estimate that would cost in the region of £88,000.

Mike isn't a politician - so the decision on whether to continue the service will not be up to him.

The environmental protection unit would still be able to respond to complaints about noise during the day, he says.

But without that funding, two staff members would lose their jobs - and those crucial Friday and Saturday night patrols would stop.

"We would not be able to respond to noise complaints outside normal office hours," Mike says.

"We have dealt with 1,191 complaints since the noise patrols began.

"Because this is a night service, if the funding stopped, that would be 1,191 people who would not be able to sleep."

• COUNCIL leaders are preparing to lobby the Government to see if it will continue to pay for the city's noise patrols once the original funding runs out from March 31 next year.

But if it won't, what will happen then?

Andrew Waller, Liberal Democrat councillor and neighbourhood services boss, said if that happened, he would "campaign hard within the council for it to be funded" out of the council's own budget.

Because the Liberal Democrats were a minority leadership, however, it would require the backing of at least one other big party if the funding plans were to be forced through, he said.

Labour leader Coun David Scott, who heads the second largest grouping on the council, said the noise patrol seemed to have been doing a good job. But his group would never rubber-stamp a request for funding without first ensuring the money would be put to the best possible use, he said.

That would entail a thorough scrutiny of the noise patrol's work over the past 18 months before a final decision could be made.

"From what we know already, the noise patrol service is likely to have our full support. But we know that the budget is tight, and where we are spending council taxpayers money we must be convinced that it is the best use of that money."

Oh for a silent night

SINCE the noise patrol was launched 18 months ago, it has dealt with 1,191 complaints of night-time noise.

More than half of those - 667 complaints - were made about neighbours. They include complaints about barking dogs, loud music, parties, and general shouting and swearing.

Other sources of complaint include home and car alarms - council enforcement officers have the power to turn these off if the owner cannot be traced - DIY, and noise from pubs (160 complaints) and factories.