A Dagenham resident has been given a £1,839 fine for holding an excessively loud, late night party.

 

Following a complaint on the evening of Saturday 8 September 2018, a council officer attended and heard excessively loud music coming from a large marquee in the back garden of 165 Lichfield Road, Dagenham. High levels of bass were bouncing off the houses on the opposite side of the street.  

 

The officer spoke to Mr Colin Platt, the property owner, at 12.20am on Sunday 9 September 2018, and explained that he was causing a statutory nuisance because the noise levels were excessively loud. The officer described the distress this volume of music was having on neighbours and asked Mr Platt to turn off the music in his garden and take it inside. Mr Platt responded by saying he was having a party and would not turn the music off.  

 

On Friday 12 April 2019, Barkingside Magistrates Court found Mr Platt guilty and ordered him to pay a £1,000 fine, a £120 victim surcharge and £719 costs to the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham.

“Nobody objects to a party with reasonable noise levels, but residents feel frustrated and upset when they have to endure excessively loud music, especially late at night." 

Councillor Margaret Mullane, Cabinet Member for Enforcement and Community Safety, said: “Nobody objects to a party with reasonable levels of noise, but residents feel frustrated and upset when they have to endure excessively loud music, especially late at night. Loud music and noise can cause a great deal of distress to neighbours, causing loss of sleep and affecting their quality of life. 

“Mr Platt’s disregard for his neighbours was unacceptable and this case shows that we will prosecute and fine people to stop unreasonable noise. If you are affected by unreasonable noise, please report it to us. Remember, it’s important that you call while the noise is affecting you, so council officers can witness this and gather evidence for further action.”

Report nuisance noise

You can report nuisance noise by using our online form.  

Call 020 8215 3000 to report noise nuisance outside of the operating hours below. 

Operating hours

 

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•    Monday to Friday: 8am to 5.30pm

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•    Monday to Thursday: 8pm to 2am

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•    Sunday: 8pm to 2am