I was approached ‘indirectly’ by a resident in a rural residential area who was having trouble with motorbike noise on an adjacent property. The response provided by Council’s planning staff might be of interest to others.
In general, this is not really a planning issue, unless the offenders start inviting lots of friends over or start to organise ‘events’. Then the location can become a recreational area and development consent will be required.
However, Council can get involved in these sorts of issues, from a compliance point of view, in response to complaints. We tend to follow the general guidance provided in the “Dealing with Neighbourhood Noise” brochure available from the Department of Environment & Heritage website.
There is basically a three step process:
- Talk to the neighbour to try to informally resolve the issue (we’ve heard of successful agreements, for example where the bikes are only ridden on Saturday mornings and the affected neighbours usually go out during that time to avoid disturbance), or if unsuccessful
- Seek mediation through the Community Justice Centre, or if unsuccessful
- Talk to Council about legal action.
If the compliance officer is satisfied that a reasonable effort has been made to attempt the first two steps he will usually ask for a diary to be kept for a few weeks to get a handle on how often, what times of day etc. problems occur. If the noise levels appear unreasonable he will investigate further. Sometimes a visit from Council helps, but it can also degrade the neighbourly relations further.
In general, it is difficult to prove a noise complaint in court, so Council is reluctant to issue fines or pursue other legal action unless there is a significant issue that can be readily proven, and action is defendable. Complainants are always advised that they have the option of presenting their own evidence directly to the local court, to seek a noise abatement order. When they pursue this option, they soon become aware of the level of evidence required.