DERRY City and Strabane District Council are this week supporting an Environment Protection UK initiative that aims to reduce the financial and public health costs of noise pollution.
Noise Action Week runs from the 22nd to the 27th of May and aims to raise awareness around the problems and solutions associated with excessive noise by promoting the message that prevention is better than cure.
Welcoming the campaign, Mayor of Derry City and Strabane District Council, Alderman Hilary McClintock, said there is a responsibility on everyone to be more conscious about the effects of noise pollution.
“I am pleased that Council are backing this important campaign to raise awareness of the public health impact of noise pollution and the cost of the services frequently called on to deal with it,” she said.
“It is a growing problem and noise it is the most common complaint received by Council who were made aware of 554 associated incidents last year.
“Preventing noise problems is much cheaper than curing them and I would urge everyone in the City and District to be mindful of their neighbours by being more conscious of the impact any noise they generate has on those around them.”
It is estimated that investigating noise complaints costs Councils between £130 and £7000 per complaint.
The number of people bothered by neighbour noise rose by 17% between 2002 and 2012, nearly half of people surveyed said their home life is spoilt by noise to some extent and one in five reported their sleep is disturbed by the problem.
The complaints stem from a wide range of sources including barking dogs, party noise, bird scarers, loudspeakers, construction works and noise from entertainment premises.
Housing providers such as the Northern Ireland Housing Executive and PSNI are also frequently involved in resolving noise disputes making it a significant drain on public resources.
Noise Action Week is co-ordinated by Environmental Protection UK, further information is available online at http://www.noiseactionweek.org.uk or @NoiseActionWeek.
Details on how to report noise pollution in the Derry City and Strabane District Council area is available by e mailing [email protected].
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