Posted on 04/10/2007 6:17:01 PM PDT by blam
Why Britain is no longer at peace with itself
By Sarah Womack, Social Affairs Correspondent
Last Updated: 1:43am BST 11/04/2007
Complaints about noise and noisy neighbours have reached unprecedented levels as Britain becomes an overcrowded and fractious nation, according to an official report published today.
In urban areas homes are increasingly smaller and built at higher density
So many people are having to live cheek by jowl, especially in large cities, that noise pollution is a blight on many lives, it says.
Since the 1980s there has been a fivefold increase in complaints about noise from rowdy neighbours.
Campaigners say the problem is likely to worsen with summer looming because many home owners have begun to treat their gardens as "outdoor rooms" and have acquired the noisy outdoor habits more usually associated with Australians.
Today's report, a major study of social trends by the Office for National Statistics, says complaints about building sites and roadworks - up from 31,800 in 1994 to 66,780 in 2004-05 - are hardly surprising given the level of construction work in major cities, particularly London.
There is also an unprecedented number of roadworks, and the proliferation of cable television firms has aggravated a perennial problem with 500,000 holes dug by utility companies in London alone.
With a population in excess of 60 million, plus more marriage breakdowns and rising immigration, the pressure to build new homes is intense.
Between 1995 and 2005 the number of new properties per hectare (2.4 acres) in England rose from 24 to 40, but in London it rose from 48 to 110. With the increase in homes comes an increase in the noise people make in their gardens.
In 1984 there were 1,244 complaints per million people in England and Wales - around 62,200 in total - mostly about neighbours' music or their pets, particularly barking dogs, or young children. This rose to 5,903 per million in 2004-05, about 313,000 complaints.
The Noise Abatement Society reported a 28 per cent increase in complaints of garden noise last summer while councils recorded a rise in complaints about noisy neighbours of between 10 per cent and 100 per cent.
Outdoor kitchens, specially adapted sound systems and bright lighting have become common, and the growth of mobile phone and wireless internet technology has enabled the self-employed to run businesses from their gardens.
The result, says the society, is that many residents spend up to 16 hours a day in their gardens at weekends.
An estimated 10 million homes have barbecues and the average family cooks outside nine times in a summer. Some are still eating and drinking on the patio at 2am.
In Fife, a community mediation service even opened a file on "trampoline rage" after complaints that noisy children were bouncing high enough to see through windows.
The majority of councils say the rise in complaints is down to "selfish attitudes" by those making the noise followed by "incompatible lifestyles with neighbours", inadequate sound insulation and more powerful sound equipment.
Tom Cox, a former Labour MP for Tooting, south London, said: "We hear a great deal about road rage. I believe that noise rage is a far greater problem. Noise rage cannot be seen, but people suffer from it and the consequences are often worse in terms of the length of suffering."
Deborah Withington, a professor of auditory neuroscience at Leeds University, said: "The level of noise in cities is sometimes so high it's hard to have a conversation. It's to do with the density of population, the density of traffic and that there are more and more electronic-type sounds like car alarms, burglar alarms and sirens."
Peter Wakeham, of the Noise Abatement Society, said: "You can't see noise, you can't taste it and until it affects you, you don't notice it. But noise pollution affects your health in so many ways."
A major source of complaints today are the reversing alarms on delivery lorries, dustbin trucks and commercial vehicles, the society said.
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•The population is growing but family sizes are shrinking. It is currently 60 million, rising to 64.7 million in 2021.
• Smaller homes are being built to meet demand but this places more pressure on the land and environment, so homes are increasingly built at higher density.
•Between 1995 and 2005 the number of new properties per hectare in England rose from 24 to 40, but in London it rose from 48 to 110.
•In 1984 there were 62,200 complaints about neighbours' music, pets, or young children. This has risen to 313,000 complaints.
ping
Sounds like they’re having fun at least.
Now we know how many holes it takes to fill the Albert Hall!
Thier partying while the Islamic radicals are plotting!
Remember the old days when Britian was GREAT Britian?
Thier partying while the Islamic radicals are plotting!
Remember the old days when Britian was GREAT Britian?
Well, if Britain’s population is increasing, and they’re becoming a welfare society, why don’t they put more of these people to work as troops? Looks like the West is gonna need them.
Sorry for the double post I can’t stop blinking, must be Pelosi-itus
Bumper sticker idea: "Honk Twice If You Support The Noise Abatement Society"
And then the liberals moved in!
cause it's rotten to the core???
So, the Aussies taught them bad habits.....LMAO! ((rolling eyes))
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