Neighbourhood Noise

Friday 31 October 2003

Neighbourhood noise is widely experienced and causes annoyance to many in Britain, particularly in areas of poor community cohesion and in specific 'risk areas', according to new research from MORI.

The project, commissioned by DEFRA, involved undertaking a wide-ranging programme of research into the issue of neighbourhood noise. This examined the main sources of everyday noise, the main annoyances arising from them, and possible solutions.

Neighbour noise was a particular focus, and the research looks in detail at both the effects that noise can have on sufferers, and the viewpoint of those causing noise. The degree to which the subject is broached between neighbours was examined, along with the consequences — good or bad — of such approaches/complaints being made.

The research also identifies a number of risk factors that can affect people's experience of noise, and makes recommendations for a communications campaign to highlight potential solutions for noise sufferers and promote behavioural change among noise makers.

The work will form a central part of the Government's efforts to heighten awareness of noise-related issues, and to explain the distress — albeit often unintended — that noise nuisance can cause. Although informal resolution is often most effective, formal channels of redress include local authority noise teams — often now including 24 hour assistance.

• Public Opinion Research to Assess its Nature, Extent and Significance — pdf document, 252K

Technical details

In all, over 6,000 members of the general public were surveyed as part of a nationally representative GB-wide survey, along with a further 2,000+ people in Dundee, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, Lewisham and Greenwich between 27 March – 30 April 2003 — areas specifically chosen as high-density, urban and with mixed housing — exactly the kinds of areas where noise nuisance can be most prevalent.

This statistical work was backed up by focus groups in areas such as Leicester, Thirsk and London, as well a series of 'diaries' kept over a period of time by a selection of households, to chronicle their experiences of noise'.

Topline Results

• Results are based on 2,066 interviews with residents aged 16+, conducted face-to-face and in-home between 27 March – 30 April 2003
• Interviews were conducted across 128 sampling points in four urban areas — Dundee, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Lewisham and Greenwich. A minimum of 500 interviews were conducted in each of these areas
• All sampling points were selected on the basis of specific MOSAIC codes to control for the type of area/housing characteristics in each area (e.g. those with higher proportions of high density housing — terraced or flats)
• Quotas were set on age, gender and work status to ensure the study is representative of those areas where interviewing took place
• Data are weighted to age, gender and working status to reflect the population in the four areas
• Where results do not sum to 100, this may be due to multiple responses, computer rounding or the exclusion of don't knows/not stated
• Results are based on all respondents unless otherwise stated
• An asterisk (*) represents a value of less than one half or one percent, but not zero

HOME AND AREA

I'd like to start by asking some questions about your home and the local area.

Q1 How would you describe the composition of your household?

	%
Single adult under 60	14
Single adult 60 or over	12
Two adults both under 60	15
Two adults at least one 60 or over	13
Three adults or more all 16 or over	13
1-parent family with child/ren, at least one child under 16	10
2-parent family with child/ren, at least one child under 16	23
Other	1
Not stated	*

Q2 How long have you been living at this address?

	%
Under 1 year	17
1 — less than 3 years	15
3 — less than 5 years	13
5 — less than 10 years	15
10 — less than 20 years	18
20+ years	22
Since birth	1
Don't know / Can't remember	*

Q3 In which of these ways does your household occupy this accommodation?

	%
Owned outright	21
Buying on mortgage	28
Rented from Council	33
Rented from Housing Association/Trust	8
Rented from private landlord	10
Other	*

Q4 How satisfied or dissatisfied would you say you are with…?

	Very satisfied	Fairly satisfied	Neither	Fairly dissatisfied	Very dissatisfied	No opinion
	%	%	%	%	%	%
Your home / accommodation	47	41	5	4	2	*
This area as a place to live	35	45	9	6	4	*
The way the Council is running the area	14	42	21	13	7	2

Q5 Which of the following, if any, do you consider to be problems in the area that affect your quality of life?

	%
Litter and Rubbish	33
Dog fouling	27
Graffiti	21
Vandalism	20
Young people/children misbehaving	20
Noise from traffic	19
Abandoned vehicles	17
Noise from neighbours	14
People drinking/drunk in the street	13
Drug abuse/dealers	9
Problems with neighbours in general	5
Other	4
None of these	25
Don't know/not stated	1

SENSE OF COMMUNITY AND NEIGHBOUR RELATIONS

Now I'd like to ask you a few questions about what people in this area are like

Q6 To what extent do you agree or disagree with each of the following statements?

	Strongly agree	Tend to agree	Neither agree nor disagree	Tend to disagree	Strongly disagree	No opinion
	%	%	%	%	%	%
This area is a friendly place to live	32	49	11	5	3	1
This area is a place where local people look out for each other	20	40	17	14	6	3

Q7 Overall, to what extent do you feel part of the local community?

	%
A great deal	11
A fair amount	43
Not very much	31
Not at all	13
Don't know/not stated	2

Q8 How would you describe how you get on with your immediate neighbours? If you have more than one neighbour/s, please give an answer for each.

	%
Get on very well	54
Get on fairly well	33
Tend not to get on well	4
Do not get on at all	4
Do not really know neighbours	9
Don't know	*

NEIGHBOUR NOISE & COMPLAINTS

Q9 Irrespective of whether you find it disturbing or not, to what extent can you hear noise from your neighbours?

	%
Not at all	47
A little	36
Quite often	11
Much of the time	5
Not stated	*

Q10 And to what extent are you ever personally bothered, annoyed or disturbed by the noise you say you can hear from your neighbours?

Base: All who hear noise from neighbours (1,069)

	%
Not at all annoyed	54
A little annoyed	25
Fairly annoyed	11
Very annoyed	10
Not stated	1

Q11 Thinking about yourself and how much noise affects you when you're in your home, which of the following best describes how tolerant you are of noise?

	%
Very tolerant of noise	30
Fairly tolerant of noise	58
Not very tolerant of noise	9
Not at all tolerant of noise	2
Don't know	*

Q12 If you had a problem with a noise a neighbour was making, who would you complain to first, if anyone? Which department?

	%
The person causing the noise	70
Local Council — Environmental Health department	7
Local Council — Housing department	5
The Police	3
Local Council — other dept/in general	3
Housing Association/Trust	2
Landlord	1
Friends/family	1
MP/councillor	*
Other	2
Would not complain to anyone	6

Q13 And who else, if anyone, would you complain to? Which department? Who else?

	%
The Police	25
Local Council — Environmental Health department	22
Local Council — Housing department	11
Local Council — other dept/in general	7
The person causing the noise	4
Landlord	2
Housing Association/Trust	3
Friends/family	1
MP/councillor	2
Other	4
Would not complain to anyone else	24
Not stated	4

Q14 Thinking about the last two years, which of the following applies to you?

	%
I have complained to a neighbour about a noise they were making	10
I have complained to an official authority (e.g. the police, the local authority) because of a noise a neighbour was making	7
I have thought about complaining to a neighbour about a noise they were making, but didn't complain	3
I have thought about complaining to an official authority about a noise a neighbour was making, but didn't complain	2
I have not thought about complaining about noise from neighbours	80
Not stated	1

Q15 Why did you not complain in the end? What other reasons?

Base: All who thought about complaining but did not (104)

	%
Wanted to avoid backlash/repercussions/intimidation/Not worth the hassle/Didn't want to make things worse	22
Didn't want to fall out with neighbours/Would rather keep the peace	15
Noise stopped eventually/when DIY/building work was finished	15
No need/wasn't necessary	6
Not a regular problem/just the odd occasion	6
Authorities would do nothing	5
Neighbour moved away	4
Neighbours would take no notice	4
They are young — it's not deliberate	3
Someone else complained	1
Other	16
None/no answer	5
Don't know	2

Q16 To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statements?

	Strongly agree	Tend to agree	Neither	Tend to disagree	Strongly disagree	No opinion
	%	%	%	%	%	%
I would not feel comfortable approaching my neighbours about a noise problem	9	23	10	28	28	1
People should discuss the problem with the people making the noise first	45	40	8	3	2	1

Q17 Has a neighbour ever complained about a noise you were making to any of the people on this card?

	%
You personally/your family	7
Local Council	2
The police	1
Housing Association/Trust	*
Landlord	*
Other	*
MP/councillor	-
None of these	89
Refused	*

Q18 And following their complaint, to what degree did you make efforts to change the noise they said you were making?

Base: All who have been complained about for noise (194)

	%
Completely stopped the noise	45
Took some steps to stop the noise	35
Didn't do much	12
Made more noise	2
Other	4
Not stated	3

Q19 To what extent do you agree or disagree that…?

Base: All who have been complained about for noise (194)

	Strongly agree	Tend to agree	Neither	Tend to disagree	Strongly disagree	Don't know	Not stated
	%	%	%	%	%	%
You were aware that you were making a noise that might annoy your neighbour	13	37	7	19	22	1	2
Their complaint against you was justified	20	35	7	20	16	1	2
The complaint was made in an appropriate way	19	44	6	12	15	2	2
The situation has now been resolved between you	46	36	9	3	5	-	2

ROLE OF LOCAL COUNCILS AND THE POLICE

Q20 How much, if at all, would you say you know about the noise reduction service provided by your local Council?

	%
A great deal	2
A fair amount	7
A little	14
Aware of but know nothing about	14
Never heard of	62
Don't know	2

Q21 How confident would you be in the ability of the Local Council to be able to do something about a noise dispute between neighbours?

	%
Very confident	7
Fairly confident	41
Not very confident	29
Not at all confident	11
Don't know	12

Q22 How confident would you be in the ability of the local police to be able to do something about a noise dispute between neighbours?

	%
Very confident	11
Fairly confident	46
Not very confident	23
Not at all confident	12
Don't know	9

Q23 Which two or three of the following items on this card, if any, do you think are most important for the local Council or Government to do to reduce problems of noise made by neighbours?

	%
Fast response to calls/incidents as they happen	40
Resolve cases/disputes quickly	32
Tougher legislation/powers to fine/prosecute noise makers	31
More follow up work with noise sufferers and noise makers once a complaint has been made	28
More information about the service, what it does and how to contact it	27
Provide a mediation service/someone to help neighbours come together to discuss and resolve issues	23
24 hour noise service	19
Provide grants for sound insulation in homes	17
Build better houses	15
Communications and advertising campaign (TV, radio, newspapers, billboards) to make people consider their neighbours more	10
Other	2
Should not do anything further/none of these	6

Neighbourhood Noise — Attitudes And Experiences Of Noise

I'd like to start by asking some questions about your home and the local area.

Q24 Now I'd like to ask you some questions about the types of noises you can hear when you are in your home. Irrespective of whether you find them disturbing/annoying or not, can you tell me to what extent, if any, you can hear any of the following noises at all when you are in your home?

	Not at all	A little	Sometimes	Quite often	Much/all of the time
	%	%	%	%	%
Trains/railway stations	74	14	6	4	2
Aircraft/airports	46	25	16	10	3
Road traffic	35	30	12	15	7
Commercial building, construction, demolition or road works	76	11	8	3	1
Neighbours (inside their homes)	56	22	12	7	3
Neighbours (outside their homes)	45	29	17	8	2
Pubs/clubs/entertainment/ venues	88	6	4	1	1
Commercial premises/ activities	89	6	3	1	1

Q25 And to what extent are you personally bothered, annoyed or disturbed by each of the noises you say you can hear in your home?

Base: All who hear noise from each source

	Base	Extremely	Very	Moderately	A little	Not at all
	n	%	%	%	%	%
Trains/railway stations	(1,518)	2	3	6	17	72
Aircraft/airports	(3,341)	2	3	9	21	65
Road traffic	(3,933)	3	4	11	25	56
Commercial building, construction, demolition or road works	(1,412)	2	4	11	27	55
Neighbours (inside their homes)	(2,729)	5	7	11	24	54
Neighbours (outside their homes)	(3,352)	3	5	9	23	60
Pubs/clubs/entertainment/ venues	(719)	3	8	13	30	47
Commercial premises/ activities	(674)	3	4	13	30	51

Q26 Thinking about the noise or noises that bother you from your neighbours, which of the following, if any, is the source or sources of the disturbance?

Base: All bothered by noise from neighbours (1,790)

	%
Loud music (excluding parties)	38
Shouting/arguments	38
Banging/loud noises	34
Children	29
TV/radio	18
Pets/animals	16
Cars/motorbikes	16
Car/house alarm	14
Fireworks	14
Footsteps	13
DIY/car repairs	14
Parties/barbeques, etc	12
Musical instruments	7
Washing machine/vacuum cleaner/hairdryer	7
Gardening/mowing the lawn	6
Snoring/coughing/ordinary conversations	5
Alarm clock/answerphone	3
Physical activities/exercises	3
Boilers/hot water systems	2
Other	5
Don't know	2

Q27 In general, what time of night, if any, do you think it is acceptable to make noise up until at the weekend, to the nearest 30 minutes?

Base: All Version 1 respondents (2,943)

	%
Before 9pm	11
9pm	10
9.30pm	3
10pm	18
10.30pm	8
11pm	20
11.30pm	5
12 (midnight)	17
12.30am	1
1am	2
1.30am	*
2am	1
No time is acceptable	2
Any time is acceptable	3

Q28 In general, what time of night, if any, do you think it is acceptable to make noise up until during the week, to the nearest 30 minutes?

Base: All Version 1 respondents (2,943)

	%
Before 9pm	16
9pm	16
9.30pm	6
10pm	22
10.30pm	8
11pm	18
11.30pm	3
12 (midnight)	7
12.30am	*
1am	*
1.30am	*
2am	*
No time is acceptable	2
Any time is acceptable	2

Q29 To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statements?

	Strongly agree	Tend to agree	Neither agree nor disagree	Tend to disagree	Strongly disagree	No opinion
	%	%	%	%	%	%
People are entitled to make noise providing they get permission/let neighbours know beforehand	14	60	14	9	2	1
I should be able to make noise in my own home — it's my personal space	7	40	21	26	6	1
Neighbours should be more tolerant of noise	6	39	30	21	3	1
Noise is only unacceptable at certain times, for example late at night/early in the morning	17	51	13	15	4	1
People who complain about noise over-react	4	27	27	32	9	2
Noise is/has been something that has affected/spoilt my quality of life in my home quite badly	5	12	10	29	43	1
I should not be able to hear my neighbours at any time	3	16	20	45	14	1

Q30 Has a neighbour ever complained about a noise you were making to any of the following?

	%
You/your family personally	8
The police	1
Local authority — Environmental Health department	1
Local authority — other department	1
MP/Councillor	0
Landlord	1
None of these	88
Don't know	1

Q31 Have you ever complained about a noise issue caused by a neighbour/someone living in the immediate area to any of the following?

	%
Neighbour/person causing the noise	28
The police	9
Local authority — Environmental Health department	7
Local authority — other department	5
MP/Councillor	2
Landlord	4
None of these	61
Don't know	*

Q32 And thinking about your complaint to … how effective do you feel it was?

Base: All who have complained to each

	Base	Very effective	Somewhat effective	Not effective	Don't know
	n	%	%	%	%
Neighbour/person causing the noise	(499)	28	34	38	*
The Police	(177)	23	25	50	1
Environmental Health department of your local authority	(143)	23	26	51	0
Another department of your local authority	(106)	12	31	57	*
MP/Councillor	(37)	17	32	49	2
Landlord	(76)	15	24	60	1

Q33 How would you describe relations with your neighbours prior to the noise/disturbance/ complaint?

Base: All bothered by noise or have been complained to by neighbours (2,127)

	%
Very good	21
Fairly good	31
Neither good nor poor	28
Fairly poor	5
Very poor	4
Don't know	12

Q34 And would you say that relations with your neighbours have got better, worse or stayed the same as a result of the noise disturbance/complaint?

Base: All bothered by noise or have been complained to by neighbours (2,127)

	%
Got a lot better	4
Got a little better	5
Stayed the same	66
Got a little worse	5
Got a lot worse	6
Don't know	6

Q35 Which of these best describes the area where you live?

	%
The centre of a city/town	10
Suburbs/outskirts of a city/town	67
Edge of the countryside	19
In the middle of the countryside	3
Other	*
Don't know	*

Q36 And how would you describe your home?

	%
Detached house/bungalow	20
Semi-detached house/bungalow	38
Terraced (in the middle) house/bungalow	20
Terraced (at the end) house/bungalow	12
Low-rise flat/flat in converted house	7
Medium/high rise flat	3
Other	1
Don't know	*