My neighbour is effecting my health.

Titus_Wadd

JC is right, it's taken us a while to get the Police onboard we were finally visited by a PCSO who had been through something similar herself with a neighbour and was instantly sympathetic.  But we have no real relief yet or security from further incidents so we still have to log everything.

The local Council departments have been inept.  They publish fancy documents on their website that talk a good talk...e.g. that as soon as antisocial behaviour is reported to a council employee (whatever the department) that person will take ownership of it and conduct the risk accessment...turns out no one from the council had read it let alone knew what to do.  We have been ping-ponged between planning, environmental health (actually they were pretty helpful for their bit), the anti-social behaviour bod is unfit for purpose.

The police have taken statements with a view to harrassment charges, but the investigating office says it'll be quite a while before they can present the evidence to the CPS and they still might not go ahead and charge them.  (I think they're hoping the threat of charges might shake them into behaving but it won't).

OP, just keep plugging away, if you have occasion to call the police stress the ongoing nature of the abuse, how unrelenting it is, how it is making you feel and how you're modifying your daily routine to avoid conflict.  If the diminish the harm and down-play the situation as "just a neighbour thing that will blow over" bring the conversation back to the daily occurrences and stress the variety of ways in which your neighbour is getting at you.  Use the word harassment rather than anti-social behaviour; say you feel constantly harassed if that's how you feel.  I try to put off using the "N" word (neighbour) when I call the police as it's too easy for them to pigeon-hole our incidents as a neighbour disagreement.

That said, part of the pain and suffering comes from friends and neighbours who, when you explain the facts say "They can't do that", "The council/police must do something!" when the reality is finding someone to take you seriously is a real slog and adds to the stress.

I'll admit we have tried to shame the council into taking action: 50 logged breaches of planning conditions evidenced with cctv footage and the Environmental Health out of hours witnessing a couple of them and the Noise App, all after a breach notice was issued, but they won't take further enforcement action (a fine up to £2500).  The perpetrators know this and don't give a monkeys so it's a way for them to harass us with impunity.

Sorry to hijack your thread with a personal rant, but it makes me so angry.  I almost wish they'd be honest and admit they won't help us so that we can manage our expectation. 

I've just typed a lot more about taking civil action, starting with an injunction without notice, but deleted it as it could identify us, the input from the Legal Protection with our house insurance has been slow and showed a poor understanding of our situation.  They're dragging their feet because they don't want to underwrite the case being brought by our own solicitor & barrister team even though their T&Cs say this is an option.  It feels little better than signing up to a now in no fee company.  The default setting for many of the organisations we have approached for help is to not listen, not answer questions and then point us towards their complaint procedure and the Ombudsman beyond that.  It doesn't help us, it adds another layer of stress deciding whether or not to complain!

OP, I don't want to demoralize you further, and if I come across something you could use I'll let you know (allowing for the difference between Scottish and English law).  Just keep plugging away at the various bodies and get your voice heard by someone who wants to help you, log everything!