Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council not investigating or taking enforcement action against noise Mr B is experiencing. This is because there is not enough evidence of the Council being at fault so an investigation is not warranted.

The complaint

1. Mr B complains he believes comes from his next door neighbours and is affecting his health and wellbeing.
2. Mr B has also referred to past antisocial behaviour by his neighbours.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. We consider whether there was fault in the way an organisation made its decision. If there was no fault in how the organisation made its decision, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council’s responses to his complaint.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. The law says the Council must take ‘such steps as are reasonably practicable’ to investigate reports of noise and other nuisance in its area. (section 79, Environmental Protection Act 1990)
7. The Council can only serve an abatement notice against a statutory nuisance if it can gather recorded and witness evidence to use in court if the person causing the alleged nuisance appeals against the notice. In practice this means environmental health officers witnessing any nuisance at first hand so they can testify in court.
8. Over the years from 2019 to 2023 the Council has visited Mr B’s home, used noise recording equipment, and explored possible sources of noise in response to his reports of noise disturbance.
9. The Council says its professional noise officers have consistently not identified excessive noise or any source which could amount to a statutory nuisance. Most recently, they identified a possible noise source within Mr B’s home, but did not witness noise from next door about which the Council could take action.
10. It is not for the Ombudsman or the Council to investigate and resolve what Mr B is experiencing. The Council has complied with its duty to investigate, but has found no evidence of noise nuisance it needs to act on.
11. I recognise Mr B may find this unsatisfactory, but we cannot question the Council’s conclusion because there is no evidence of it being at fault in the action it has taken to investigate.
12. Mr B and his neighbours are housing association tenants, and it is first for his landlord or the police to consider his reports of antisocial behaviour. We cannot investigate the way the housing association or police handle those matters because neither is a body we can investigate.
13. I understand Mr B has asked the police to carry out a review under the Antisocial Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014, and the Council says it will co-operate with any review the police carry out. We could not add to this by investigating.

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Final decision

14. We will not investigate Mr B’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of the Council being at fault so an investigation is not warranted.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman