Whether it is day or night, in many cases a person who owns a dog that makes excessive noise is unaware that they are causing a nuisance. Often the best way to deal with unwanted noise is to talk to the person responsible and point out the problem. You may find they are unaware that they are disturbing you.
Before you approach the person responsible it's important to think about your personal safety. If you feel threatened by those responsible for the noise, or if you are worried that they may become aggressive, then approaching them may not be the best option for you.
If your approach is unsuccessful, or you do not feel it's appropriate, then you may make a complaint to us.
If you are experiencing excessive dog noise, then this may be a form of antisocial behaviour (ASB). You can report noise ASB through MyDudley.
If making a complaint, we need to know as much information as possible about the noise. It will assist us if you keep a written record of the following information:
- a description of the noise
- how the noise is affecting you
- date and time the noise occurs, and its duration
- details of occupier of the premises (if applicable)
- name and address of the premises the noise is coming from (if applicable)
What happens next
We will assess your complaint and decide if the matter is actionable or whether it needs to be referred to another agency. We will advise you accordingly and if your complaint can be dealt with by us you will be informed how the complaint will be investigated. If you have not done so already you may be asked to keep a record of the disturbances to enable an accurate assessment of the noise to be made. We may visit the area where the noise is occurring and contact the person responsible with a view to resolving the matter.
Informal action is usually successful in resolving noise complaints. In some cases we may have to resort to formal action, such as the serving of an abatement notice.
The notice will require the person responsible to take the necessary action to prevent the noise from continuing to cause a nuisance. A person on whom such a notice is served has a right of appeal to a magistrates court within 21 days of it being served. A breach of an abatement notice is an offence under the Environmental Protection Act 1990, and may result in the council taking legal action against those responsible.