Noise Nuisance - Standard of Proof

seaweed

Hi, we have an ongoing noise complaint with our local council (in England). They refuse to issue an abatement notice to our neighbours, saying they need to have proof "beyond reasonable doubt". However, according to Google, the standard of proof for issuing an abatement notice is "on the balance of probabilities" (as at that stage it's a civil matter, not criminal)
Who is right? 
Thank you. 

WIAWSNB

Is there any reason why you cannot keep collecting clear evidence, and make it 'beyond reasonable doubt'.

Do you have, say, a CCTV camera set up, which will capture sound and its duration? 

Keep a detailed log, and download all the relevant clips. 

It's a hard issue for the council to resolve - they are usually under extreme pressure with limited staff, and really need your help with comprehensive evidence. Do your best to provide this. 

Exodi

Whenever I watched the 'nightmare neighbour' type programs in the past, the council provided equipment that could record noise (and db) that could be used as evidence.

I'm not suggesting for one second you should ask for a camera or a decibel meter from the council, I'm sure those days are long gone, but certainly to take the initiative to gather evidence yourself.

I'd say it may appear a tad odd to the council that you seem reluctant to provide proof. It should be relatively easy to capture.

Bigphil1474

They will need sufficient evidence to serve the notice. There is no offence of causing noise nuisance, the offence is not complying with the abatement notice. As failing to comply with the notice is a criminal offence, councils would want the evidence that supports the notice to be to the same standard in case the notice is appealed. Basically, you are both right, and if councils weren't so skint and short of staff and resources, you'd probably not have this issue. 

Noise nuisance isn't always loud disco music at 3am in the morning. It can be lower level noise but happening too often or at the wrong time. Per above - councils still do have noise monitoring equipment (NME), but that doesn't provide evidence beyond a reasonable doubt. It's normally the resident who does the recording (they do stop/start recordings when the problem is at its worst). It has been known for residents to record their own noise to make the problem seem worse. The recording doesn't identify where the noise is coming from.