Now what?!!

runforlife

Gingernutty, This is quite clearly Anti Social Behaviour (ASB).

ASB has been defined formally under Section 1 Crime and Disorder Act 1998 as:-
'acting in a manner that caused or was likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress to one or more persons not of the same household.'


ASB can take many forms but some examples are:-

• Noise Nuisance
• Criminal Damage/Vandalism
• Drunken Behaviour in the Streets
• Intimidation/Harassment
• Litter/Rubbish, The Fouling of Public Areas, Fly Tipping
• Drug/Substance Misuse and Drug Dealing
• Street Prostitution.

Ask to see your local police forces ASB policy. Engage with the local community team and arrange a meeting with the Sergeant responsible for that team.

There are solutions the police together with the local authority can put in place for you.

Nuisance Letters
Acceptable Behaviour Contracts on the kids.
Warnings from the landlord about behaviour and the possibilty of losing their property to name but 3.

Also if possible engage the support of other neighbours and remember to keep complaining! It's the old "squeaky gate" syndrome. Those that make the most noise get actioned upon.

Good luck!

Gingernutty

Thanks.

It's not as bad as it was - someone has clearly had a word with her.

They have their moments though.

The most recent email mentioned dumped furniture in the back yard and a large glass coffee table top parked out on the front pavement - of course, these are missing now even though a bed has grown mouldy stuck out in the rain for months before now.

My trouble is, the noise and the nuisance is transient and someone passing on a good day won't see what the problem is.

Sod's Law says that the Housing Officer will not just pass by on a good day but keep monitoring through a good week.

Then I'll look like some nuisance neurotic. Pfffft!

mrcow

But you want to get strategies/who to call in place ready for when the weather gets better and it all undoubtedly sparks up again.

Call them next week and share your concerns - read back some of the posts you've written here - it sounds horrendous.

runforlife

Keep a record constantly. It will help corroborate your complaint. Don't forget to have a word with your local police community team. Again regular intelligence submitted into the police records will help. Bear in mind it may have gone quiet for lots of reasons...weather, personal, new X box, etc etc....

Savvy_Sue

You could also see if you can discreetly take photos ...

LondonDiva

Gingernutty wrote: »

My trouble is, the noise and the nuisance is transient and someone passing on a good day won't see what the problem is.

Sod's Law says that the Housing Officer will not just pass by on a good day but keep monitoring through a good week.

Then I'll look like some nuisance neurotic. Pfffft!

Print off all your threads here - they serve as contemporaneous records of your concerns (and their lack of action).

kboss2010

I remember what it was like to have neighbours who complained about us playing outside when I was a kid - kids will be kids and in this increasing world of Xboxes and 7 years olds developing type 2 diabetes, just be thankful there are still some kids willing to play outside!

I sympathise as now that I'm older I am that grumpy person who abhors the noise of kids screaming and having water fights outside my front door. That said, however, if you don't like having screaming kids around then don't live in a house on an estate full of family houses.

By all means, complain about the noise and disruption of the mother to the HA (it's a 3 strikes and you're out rule, it happened to my grandparents who lived with my cousin who insisted on slamming every door she walked through - the next door neighbours had them moved). All it takes is you and a couple of the other neighbours to complain but be prepared for the arguments in the meantime.

My dad's friend had the same issue and I think he resolved it the best way - he sold the house, moved to a detached house in the country with a high fence all around and a narrow dirt track access road. At least it stopped the local kids kicking their footballs at his car!

Gingernutty

Yor Waan has been hosting a party since early this evening getting more and more raucous as the night has worn into morning.

Not much, if any, cannabis smoke, but plenty of tobacco smoke which has triggered an attack of the wheezies - causing me to bring out the Ventolin. Fabulous.

Little Miss "I'm Your New Housing Officer" is getting contemporaneous email accounts of what's happening.

As the DJ (!!?) has promised to ROCK THE HOUSE AAAAAAAAAALL NIGHT, :eek: I'm off to do some shredding.......

Like they're going to complain about the noise.

Savvy_Sue

does your local council have a number for out of hours noise nuisance on their website?

I've gone through Environment and Pollution to get to mine (which mercifully I've never had to use), but this is an example of what OUGHT to be available:

Out-of-hours service In addition to the normal working week Pollution Control also runs an out-of-hours service to tackle noise problems which occur in the evenings and at night.
We can only provide a service for about 75% of the year, the weeks covered are chosen to respond to periods of peak demand in order to ensure the most effective service with the resources we have. Please contact the team for details of service availability.
This service is provided by two officers working as a team, for health and safety reasons, covering the whole of the city. As a result in times of high demand there may be a delay in their response.

Gingernutty

They're closed.

I've just been given waste collection dates over the Christmas and New Year period.

Any complaint is referred to the same generic General Enquiries and Switchboard numbers.

I've been given an emergency number - does this qualify as an emergency, though?