Council introduces quick, easy way for residents to report nuisance noise at night
After last year’s wash-out across much of the UK, it looks like summer 2025 will be largely sunny and bright. We’ve already had days and days of sunshine – ideal for meeting up with friends and family, and having a good time outdoors.
Photo by Elyas Pasban / Unsplash
But every year as the weather improves there’s a corresponding rise in the number of complaints made to local councils about nuisance noise at night.
The pollution and noise control team at Kirklees Council in West Yorkshire even ran a dedicated night-time noise service to address these complaints in real time. While effective, that service was also resource intensive and could be over-stretched. In especially busy periods, officers on the team were not able to record the nuisance noise in time as evidence.
This year, the team are launching a free noise app that enables residents to record nuisance noise on their own phone and send it direct to the council. The hope is that using the app as part of a simpler, more streamlined process to log and investigate complaints will enhance efficiency and improve service delivery, helping to tackle nuisance noise at night more effectively.
The noise app is available from Kirklees Council’s noise nuisance page, which also contains advice and guidance on dealing with such issues.
Cllr Munir Ahmed, Cabinet Member for Environment and Highways at Kirklees Council, says: ‘As the weather improves, of course more of us want to take advantage of being outside and spending time with friends and family. Unfortunately, the council’s pollution and noise control team see a huge increase in complaints over this time, as understandably too much noise can be disturbing.
‘It’s easy to get carried away when having parties, but please spare a thought for your neighbours and keep noise to a minimum to avoid disruption. I am really pleased to see the release of this new app which will make it easier for residents to report noise disturbances and will also support council officers in their investigations.’
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