FOI to assess noise complaints by city

Confused.com has conducted Freedom of Information requests to the 100 biggest cities in the UK to find out the number of noise complaints over the last 12 months, to find out who has the loudest neighbours. The research also includes a survey of over 2,000 residents across the UK.

The 10 noisiest cities to live in the UK: With the UK currently facing its third lockdown, peacefulness at home has become more valuable than ever, especially with more people working from home and children being homeschooled.

However, research shows thousands of noise complaints being directed at UK councils. In fact, in 12 months, councils for some of the top 100 populated cities in the UK received a whopping 268,125 complaints. But which cities are home to the noisiest neighbourhoods?

Known for its hustle and bustle, London ranks as home to the noisiest neighbourhood, with a staggering total of 158,958 noise complaints, which is 515 complaints per 10,000 households. And further research shows 41% of London respondents in a survey by Confused.com admitted to making a noise complaint about their neighbour.

Outside of London, Southampton tops the list with 476 complaints per 10,000 households. Meanwhile, data reveals Cheltenham as the quietest place in the UK, with 289 complaints received over the last 12 months, equivalent to 67 per 10,000 households.

The best and worst London boroughs for noise pollution:

Westminster – 1,976 complaints per 10,000 households
Islington – 1,519 complaints per 10,000 households
Kensington and Chelsea – 1,486 complaints per 10,000 households
Barking and Dagenham – 1,278 complaints per 10,000 households
Hammersmith and Fulham – 1,221 complaints per 10,000 households
Westminster tops the leaderboard as the noisiest borough in London and has registered a staggering 24,756 noise complaints over the last 12 months, equalling 1,976 complaints per 10,000 households.

As for the calmest areas in London, Harrow, Greenwich and Havering all top the list with figures, over 20 times less the figure than Westminster.

Harrow – 72 complaints per 10,000 households
Greenwich – 74complaints per 10,000 households
Havering– 96 complaints per 10,000 households
Brent – 111 complaints per 10,000 households
Kingston upon Thames – 130 complaints per 10,000 households

The UK’s quietest cities:

While it can feel uncomfortable to complain about neighbours, our survey revealed that more than a third (34%) of respondents across the UK had already complained in the past. London (41%), Bristol (39%) and Manchester (34%) host the highest proportion of people that have made noise complaints.

Of those who did complain, more than half (52%) went directly to their neighbour to resolve the issue, while nearly half (49%) got in touch with the local council. A third (33%) even went as far as reporting their neighbour to the police.

The most common reason for a noise complaint was loud music, accounting for half (50%) of reports in the survey. This was closely followed by loud parties with more than two fifths (43%) of Brits admitting to complaining when their neighbours are hosting a noisy get-together. Raised voices and shouting makes up nearly a third (30%) of all noise complaints across the UK.

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