Have you had a problem with a noisy neighbour in the past year? For anyone who lives in the UK, there's a higher than one in four chance that you have. And according to a recent survey, the biggest problems are loud music and televisions, slamming doors, noisy footsteps – and pets.
That's why the complaints by residents of an Old Basford street, who say they have had problems with a neighbour's noisy dogs for years, should not be taken lightly.
Anyone who has suffered from nuisance noise will know that, while it may seem insignificant, it can have a major impact on daily life, from disrupting sleep to feeling unable to have the windows open on a warm day. It causes tensions and arguments, and in some cases can lead to a general escalation in noise, if the only response seems to be to turn up the volume in your own house in order to hear everything clearly around you.
Five years, which is the length of time the residents say they have been suffering, is much too long to have to put up with any noise nuisance, whether it is intermittent or not.
It's understandable that residents have not known who to approach abut the issue, and that their slightly scattergun approach has taken in the police and RSPCA as well as the organisation which actually needs to investigate, the local council.
Now, with the council saying it is indeed looking into the issue, and the neighbour in question pledging to resolve the issue, one hopes that the residents of Heatherley Drive can soon be living in a bark-free zone.