Report lifts the lid on a blaring nuisance

By jnewton

NOISY neighbours were the target of a Freedom of Information request submitted to councils throughout the region.

This week's findings – which show Birmingham issued more noise abatement notices in the past 12 months than any other West Midlands authority – put rowdy residents under the spotlight for the second time in as many weeks.

The general council statistics follow the localised numbers recorded on a police website.

As well as crime, the resource – www.myneighbourhood.info – includes a sense of anti-social behaviour in Sutton Coldfield.

Statistics are available for a range of issues including underage drinking and hoax calls as well as the numbers of nuisance neighbours for the past year in Sutton's core neighbourhoods.

Whitehouse Common, which includes Falcon Lodge, had the highest number of nuisance neighbours with 115 – a rate of 6.6 per thousand residents.

The figure maps the trend of the total number of incidents of anti-social behaviour in Whitehouse Common. A total of 884 incidents in Whitehouse Common saw one incident for every 20 neighbours.

Boldmere, which includes Banners Gate, Wylde Green and Chester Road Station, had 91 nuisance neighbours (a rate of 3.1), Sutton town centre had 18 (a rate of 2.6), Four Oaks had 55 (a rate of 2.2) and Walmley, which includes Minworth, had 27 (a rate of 1.8).

The Freedom of Information bid for the statistics was launched by insulators Rockwool.

Councils in the West Midlands received 9,936 complaints about noise in the last 12 months.

Local authorities confiscated equipment in 24 cases, including stereos, televisions and high performance speakers.

Hans Schreuder, Rockwool managing director, said: "Noise pollution is a key concern for residents in the West Midlands.

"Many householders are relying on their local authority to take appropriate steps to protect their health.

"Living with persistent noise is extremely stressful and can have a severe impact on an individuals' physical and psychological wellbeing."