Almost 800 noise complaints in Burnley and Pendle

With more than 35 north-western boroughs and local authorities surveyed, the total number of noise complaints in the area was 28,738, with Burnley logging 352 issues and Pendle 432.

With a combined population of around 176,500, the average number of complaints per 1,000 people was approximately four, making Burnley and Pendle and averagely noisy locale, and positvely peaceful compared to St Helens, Preston, Fylde, Liverpool, and Barrow-in-Furness, all of which sustained from six to to 13 noise complaints per 1,000 residents.

In Burnley, the top three acoustic offenders were dogs, music, and machinery (in that order), while in Pendle music was the top culprit, with dogs and boisterous neighbours also amongst the premier aural transgressors.

Thomas Shelton, Cirrus’ Marketing Manager, explained: “What one person thinks is acceptable could drive someone else crazy, so noise enforcement teams have a difficult job.

“Elderly people are also more likely to complain as they spend more time indoors. With noise nuisance, people are now much more aware of their rights and more likely to complain than grin and bear it.”

The data, complied by Cirrus through Freedom of Information requests, show the most common complaints of clamour from the 6.3 million people in the north-west were dogs, music, and needlessly cacophanous locals, but despite the almost-30,000 complaints raised, just seven cases resulted in court appearances.