WARRINGTON has been named as one of the quietest places to live in a new survey by price comparison website confused.com when researching noise complaints.
Confused.com conducted Freedom of Information requests to the 100 biggest towns and cities in the UK to find out the number of noise complaints over the last 12 months, to find out who has the loudest neighbours. The research also includes a survey of over 2,000 residents across the UK finding out just what people really think about their neighbours.
For least noise complaints per 10,000 households Warrington comes a respectful 8th.
London takes the top spot for the city with the most noise complaints per 10,000 households at 515. Southampton ranks second with 476 complaints per household, followed by Bath
Meanwhile 30% of Brits admit to having made a noisy complaint about their neighbour, with 1 in 5 (20%) wishing they didn’t have a neighbour at all
33% of noise complaints are reported to the police, whilst over half (52%) are usually settled with the neighbour
While it can feel uncomfortable to complain about neighbours, the survey revealed that more than a third (34%) of respondents across the UK had already complained in the past. London (41%), Bristol (39%) and Manchester (34%) host the highest proportion of people that have made noise complaints.
Of those who did complain, more than half (52%) went directly to their neighbour to resolve the issue, while nearly half (49%) got in touch with the local council. A third (33%) even went as far as reporting their neighbour to the police.
The most common reason for a noise complaint was loud music, accounting for half (50%) of reports in the survey. This was closely followed by loud parties with more than two fifths (43%) of Brits admitting to complaining when their neighbours are hosting a noisy get-together. Raised voices and shouting makes up nearly a third (30%) of all noise complaints across the UK.
What about those that aren’t complaining?
Complaining about a neighbour can feel overwhelming and many may be concerned of the effect it might have on their relationship. According to the data, nearly two thirds (64%) of Brits have never complained about a neighbour, with a quarter (26%) of these admitting that they would never complain about a neighbour, even if the situation arose.
While more than a third (34%) of people wouldn’t complain in fear of creating tension with their neighbour, more than a quarter (26%) of respondents were confused about the complaint process or weren’t aware they were able to. Of these, almost one in 10 (9%) were confused about their rights and more than one in eight (14%) were unsure of the process or how they would go about making a complaint. Perhaps most shocking is that 4% weren’t even aware they were able to make a complaint.
Dealing with neighbour disputes can be challenging. However, more often than not, a conversation can go a long way. But Confused.com’s expert guide outlines the steps to take if you want to take things further and make an official complaint.
Jessica Willock, home insurance expert at Confused.com, comments: “It’s no fun living in a noisy neighbourhood, and it seems some areas across the UK are a lot worse for noise pollution than others. And living with noisy neighbours can be really difficult to handle without creating tension.
“More often than not, a friendly conversation goes a long way. But when that fails, where to turn to next can be confusing. We’ve created a guide to understanding basic neighbour etiquette, including how best to handle noisy situations. While calling the police might seem like the best route to take, you should in fact be getting in touch with your local council.”
