Please find below information that may be useful to you or someone you know:
"As you will be aware, as part of the financial savings measures being implemented by the local authority and agreed at the February Budget Council Meeting, the dedicated out of hours noise nuisance witnessing service will cease. This will take effect from 1st October 2024.
Responding to excessive noise is a statutory response that falls to the Council to discharge, however the obligation is to investigate to establish the nature of the problem not to immediately stop the noise.
Councils must investigate complaints about noise that could be a statutory nuisance (covered by the Environmental Protection Act 1990) If they agree that a statutory nuisance is happening, or will happen in the future, councils must serve a legal notice. The witnessing service was developed in a time when budgets and resources were more plentiful and there is no statutory requirement to provide this witnessing capability. Most calls and visits result in very little actionable outcomes.
In line with the council wide drive for digital first customer contact, the Leeds Anti-Social Behaviour Team are working with IDS on redesigning our noise reporting processes and systems. This will provide advice and self-help at the front of the process for people reporting noise or being the subject of complaints. The design of the processes and systems will enable customers to reduce time they spend on enquiries, automate some processes, and ensure that we get it right, first time, meaning less time spent for customers and staff dealing with issues. This will also reduce wasted time in dealing with inappropriate enquiries and ensure that the team can deal with relevant enquiries quickly and more efficiently using a fully integrated council wide system for both noise reporting and case management.
Respite for repeat suffering residents is provided through the courts from effective case management provided by LASBT day team. Cases are progressed by LASBT where the Out of Hours team are not involved.
All noise reports are subject to a LASBT Triage review where they are risk assessed, taking cognisance of the threat, harm, risk, equality, diversity, and inclusion. This ensures that all customer needs are assessed at the earliest opportunity and our response is risk based and this will continue through the online and daytime reporting process.
This change will not impact upon the Dedicated Service, due to it being funded externally. The out of hours report for this area would be passed to Response Officers for a live time investigation and potentially serve legal paperwork or warning letter if appropriate."
