Noise pollution - how can we help?

Noise - how we can help

The Pollution Control Team will investigate complaints about noise from industrial, commercial, neighbour and neighbourhood sources. Please contact us for help or advice about noise from the following:

• alarms, including vehicle alarms
• barking dogs
• construction and demolition sites
• deliveries, or waste / recycling collections at commercial premises
• noisy neighbours
• noisy equipment in the street
• pubs and clubs
• ventilation, air conditioning equipment, or other noisy equipment in commercial and industrial premises
• roadworks.

We do not have any legal powers to deal with:

• rowdy behaviour in public places
• traffic and aircraft noise.

For help with Noise in the workplace please contact the our Public Health Services Team who will be able to advise you.
Email: health.safety@bristol.gov.uk
Telephone: 0117 922 2500 

What to do if I am disturbed by noise

The person or people responsible for the noise may not be aware of the effects that the noise is having. Where possible discuss the problem with them, as this will often sort the matter out and also help maintain good neighbour relations.

If this does not resolve the problem, or if you feel unable to contact the person responsible, you can ask us to investigate the complaint on your behalf.

We will need the following information.

• Your name, address and telephone number
  (we are not able to deal with anonymous complaints but will deal with your complaint in confidence and not pass your details on without your agreement)

• The address where the noise is coming from, and the name of the person responsible for the noise (if known). 

• Details of the noise you are suffering from, together with when and how often it occurs.

You can email this information to: pollutioncontrol@bristol.gov.uk 

• The noise diary (pdf, 15 KB) can be used to record information about the noise and can then be returned to Pollution Control on completion.
• You can also use our online form to report a noise nuisance problem.
• View our booklet about domestic noise (pdf, 1.2 MB) problems.
• The Department for Environment Food and Rural affairs (defra) also has a helpful booklet called Bothered by noise.

Out-of-hours service

In addition to the normal working week Pollution Control also runs an out-of-hours service to tackle noise problems which occur in the evenings and at night.

This service is provided by two officers working as a team, for health and safety reasons, covering the whole of the city. As a result in times of high demand there may be a delay in their response.

The hours of this service are:

The service does not currently operate on Bank Holidays.

This service is contacted through the Emergency Control Centre, who can receive your calls 24 hours per day, on 0117 922 2050. 

Mediation

As an alternative to asking us to investigate a noise problem disputes about a variety of issues including noise can often be resolved by mediation.

Bristol Mediation promotes and provides community mediation, and offers a free, confidential and impartial neighbour mediation service to all residents of Bristol. They can be contacted at:

Bristol Mediation
Unit 64 Easton Business Centre
Felix Road
Easton
Bristol
BS5 0HE
Tel 0117 941 5379
Fax 0117 935 0580
Email info@bristol-mediation.org
www.bristol-mediation.org