Local Government Ombudsman

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Rossendale Borough Council (04C07580 & 4 others)

Environmental health & Planning enforcement 

Maladministration causing injustice

28 February 2006

‘Mr and Mrs Smith’ (not their real names) and four of their neighbours complained that the Council failed to take effective enforcement action against a factory causing a noise nuisance close to their homes, and that, in particular, the Council failed to take effective planning enforcement action against a breach of planning permission when the Council placed skips near their home.

The complainants were affected for some years by noise caused by the factory. The issue was whether the Council was at fault by not taking appropriate action in the light of the complaints it received over a number of years.

Council officers found a statutory nuisance in March and May 2002 and, over the next year, discussions with the factory apparently led to noise reduction so that by March 2003 no statutory noise nuisance could be found. However, by November 2003 the Council concluded that a statutory noise nuisance was present. By then the Smiths were unwilling to allow the Council to obtain further evidence through monitoring.

In July 2004 Mr and Mrs Smith again complained about the noise levels and the Council agreed that these constituted a statutory nuisance. An independent consultant was employed by the Council and an abatement notice served in December 2004. That case had yet to come to court and, when it did, the court would determine whether the factory had used the best practicable means to reduce the noise it made.

The Ombudsman concluded that the Council’s failure to take effective action earlier was maladministration. The Council subsequently took action to improve its Environmental Health Service with regard to noise nuisance.

The Ombudsman found maladministration causing injustice and recommended the Council to pay £1,000 compensation to Mr and Mrs Smith. She did not consider that compensation was appropriate for the other complainants, who lived further away from the site.

Date Updated: 12/02/10