Neighbour making noise to stop us using garden - what level is unacceptable?

Supersonos

goldfinches said:

Are there any other neighbours who are being tangentially affected by the noise? If so, might you ask them to have a word in the first instance?
Someone else pointing out to them that they're being prize twerps might be effective and if not you can then decide what to do next.

There aren't - we live in quite a rural area, so no other neighbours are close enough to hear the music.  Plus their conservatory doors open out in the direction of our garden, so the music is literally funnelled towards us.

I think I'm going to carry on using our garden as we'd like and not be intimidated.  But I'll also be keeping a diary in case they simply never give up. 

GDB2222

Can I ask why you don't just have a friendly chat with them? 

Supersonos

mandy47 said:

We've had problems with our neighbours for about 3 years now. At first it was stressful and hard to deal with. Now we've learned to ignore them. They have proved how petty and immature they are. They're intimidating tactics no longer work and we're far happier now.  
I do feel for you. We had to put up with them appearing in their garden every time we entered our garden. Lighting the chimnea when we pegged out washing.  Singing songs with violent lyrics,  shouting to each other, loud music and various other noises. We now ignore it  although the smoke is annoying.  They now realise it's not stopping us enjoying our own garden and the annoying behaviour is dwindling. We still keep a log of anything particularly nasty just in case but we are enjoying our garden more than ever. 
Stay strong and hopefully you'll get a happy outcome. 

Great advice - thanks.  I've always been endlessly considerate of my neighbours, shame some people are just... well, insert an expletive of your choosing.

Norman_Castle

Supersonos said:

goldfinches said:

Are there any other neighbours who are being tangentially affected by the noise? If so, might you ask them to have a word in the first instance?
Someone else pointing out to them that they're being prize twerps might be effective and if not you can then decide what to do next.

There aren't - we live in quite a rural area, so no other neighbours are close enough to hear the music.  Plus their conservatory doors open out in the direction of our garden, so the music is literally funnelled towards us.

Can they see you in your garden? If you think its intentional I'd be tempted to put a radio on a timer switching on and off throughout the day. They'll be trying to annoy you when you're elsewhere.

MalMonroe

As GDB2222 suggests, have you tried talking to them? Some people are just extremely thoughtless while at the same time being very noisy and inconsiderate. And I have lived next door to some of them. If you make contact you may find that they are not doing things deliberately, why would they? The trouble is that in this country we don't tend to tackle a problem head on, we'd rather skirt around things. Making assumptions about why others act in certain ways is the way we do it here but it's not really effective and may not be right.

You can report noisy neighbours to the council. Or you can try the nice approach in the first instance and have a word with them.

There's some information here :  https://www.gov.uk/how-to-resolve-neighbour-disputes

Rosa_Damascena

Supersonos said:

goldfinches said:

Are there any other neighbours who are being tangentially affected by the noise? If so, might you ask them to have a word in the first instance?
Someone else pointing out to them that they're being prize twerps might be effective and if not you can then decide what to do next.

There aren't - we live in quite a rural area, so no other neighbours are close enough to hear the music.  Plus their conservatory doors open out in the direction of our garden, so the music is literally funnelled towards us.

I think I'm going to carry on using our garden as we'd like and not be intimidated.  But I'll also be keeping a diary in case they simply never give up. 

Why don't you record each episode and stick it on YouTube, like a vlog? Your evidence will be there for posterity and you'll get a following in no time 

onomatopoeia99

Jeepers_Creepers said:

Too good.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ezOI3sPqWPU

Something like Mad Rush or Metamorphosis are maybe a bit more accessible. And then there is Etoile Polaire, which is astonishing and may have the desired effect of annoying the neighbours, but is only two and half minutes long.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UfUki5sFZmw 

Grenage

Ignoring it or having a chat are the best options.  Retaliation will lead to escalation.

Davesnave

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

Herbalus said:

I would invest in some noise cancelling headphones. Then you can sit in your own garden listening to your own thing, and if they are doing it on purpose it will become blindingly obvious it doesn’t affect you.

plus it will be much easier to ignore it if you can’t hear it.

  Philip Glass tends to be an acquired taste as well.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cnXEcS2Xt7s 

Love it. However, a very mild-mannered relative once proved your point when I  had it paying quietly in the car. Without warning, he suddenly shouted, "Please....turn that bloody music off!"

I think this was quite a few years ago, before they stated using Glass's work for documentaries etc.

Rosa_Damascena

Grenage said:

Ignoring it or having a chat are the best options.  Retaliation will lead to escalation.

In a grown up world this works, in practice you can't argue with stupid.

The OP's neighbours seem to be escalating in the absence of a reaction.