Do your council candidates care about noise?

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With all the noise about the general election there is a risk of local councillors not being heard. It is your local council that has direct responsibility for dealing with neighbourhood noise. At a time when services are strained and budgets tight – check if yor council candidates care about keeping the peace in your area. It is a big issue in many towns and cities – and the biggest source of complaints that councils receive.

The Defra Noise Attitude Survey, undertaken in 2012, and published early this year, found noise has leapt from ninth to fourth place in a table of local environmental problems that affect people. Just over a fifth of people said they are personally affected by noise – slightly more than reported being affected by air pollution and one in five said their sleep is disturbed.

So, are your council candidates making any pledges to fulfill their legal duties to investigate complaints about noisy neighbours, pubs and clubs disturbing the peace in your community? Are they caring out awareness raising work and ensuring noise is properly taken into account in planning? In the run up to the election you have the opportunity to ask them. Many deal with hundreds of complaints a year – preventing noise is more effective, easier and far cheaper in terms of money and health and well being costs in communities - so in the run up to local elections check that your prospective councillors care about preventing noise pollution.