Music and dogs top West Northamptonshire noise complaint chart

Loud music and barking dogs have been revealed as the biggest sources of noise complaints in part of a county.

Figures obtained by the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) show 1,845 complaints were received by West Northamptonshire Council in the last year.

Music was the biggest gripe in Northampton, while a third of Daventry’s reports were about barking dogs.

The LDRS said anyone who did not comply with an order to reduce noise risked prosecution.

The statistics obtained by the LDRS show the number of complaints received in different parts of the West Northamptonshire Council area between September 2023 and August 2024 were:

• Northampton: 1,141
• Daventry: 345
• South Northamptonshire: 359

About a third of the complaints in Northampton were about excessive noise, while one in three of those in the Daventry area were about barking dogs.

The council said it could not provide a breakdown of the cause of noise complaints in south Northamptonshire.

Second place in the Northampton chart went to “neighbour noise” (317 complaints), and barking dogs snatched third place with 197 reports.

The second biggest noise nuisance in Daventry was described as “domestic” sounds, with 106 reports, and commercial noises came in third with 76 complaints.

A council can issue Section 80 notices to people who create excessive noise, which require the racket to cease within a certain number of days.

Of the 1,845 complaints in the council’s area over the last 12 months, only 15 resulted in notices being served.

The LDRS said noise could be considered a statutory nuisance if it unreasonably interfered with the use or enjoyment of a home or other premises, or if it injured or was likely to injure health.

If someone did not comply with an abatement (Section 80) notice, they could be prosecuted and fined, the service said.