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Posted: 08-02-2013 12:59 Post subject:

Mother angers neighbours by cutting off top half of outhouse door to 'convert it' into a stable for her horses
By Mark Duell
PUBLISHED: 17:57, 7 February 2013 | UPDATED: 07:47, 8 February 2013

A 43-year-old mother has been threatened with eviction after turning her outside shed into a stable for her pet horses.
Julie Burnham, of Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, cut off the top half of her outhouse door and scattered hay inside to create a stable for the animals.
Her family were said to regularly ride their ponies up and down the street where they live and horse manure was allegedly even posted through a neighbour's letterbox.

Housing officers visiting her home spotted a pony in the back yard and the outhouse being used as a stable. Burnham was threatened with eviction if she failed to clean up the house.
The family are said to have committed a catalogue of anti-social behaviour offences.
Neighbours have complained that the two ponies being kept at the property were being ridden on the footpaths around the estate.
It is also claimed that a group of teenagers at the house were shouting, swearing and breaking branches off the trees, while on another occasion visitors to the house were fighting and neighbours had to complain about loud music.

Burnham said that she no longer has the horses and that they have now been sold.
Gateshead County Court heard of more than 60 incidents of anti-social behaviour and placed a year-long suspended eviction order on Burnham.
If she, her son or any visitors to the home are involved in any anti-social activities between now and January 2014, she will be evicted.

Neil Bouch, the Gateshead Housing Company's director of customers and communities, said: ‘We want to help people feel safe in their homes and neighbourhoods.
‘So we will not tolerate the unreasonable behaviour of a small minority of residents, which causes a disturbance to other residents.
‘The housing company will continue to work with Gateshead Council, the police and the courts to reduce the threat of antisocial behaviour across the borough.’

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2275119/Mother-angers-neighbours-cutting-half-outhouse-door-convert-stable-horses.html#ixzz2KJ9xqSkh

Posted: 23-04-2013 15:27 Post subject:

Can't remember if I have complained about this before on here or not but basically we rent our apartment in a building with about I'd say 30 other apartments spread across three buildings and 5/6 floors. Luckily, despite being on a major road in the centre of a big city it is incredibly quiet - to the extent that on an evening you can hear the birds tweeting in the courtyard.

We are not unnaturally noisy people, we are both out at work all day from about 8-30 to 19-00pm and the evening routine usually consists of making dinner, surfing the net for a bit and watching a film or TV show. We might have music on but not at anything near uncomfortable levels. As we have work we are usually in bed by 11pm so not having wild parties until the early hours.

After having one get together shortly after we moved in that did go on past 1am and led to complaints from the neighbours we have rarely if ever had visitors round. I can count maybe three or four instances in two years where we have had more than one friend round to visit at the same time.

We have no pets or children that make noise and while the washing machine is quite loud we make sure not to put it on late in the evening.

In the two years we have been there we have had neighbours in the next building seemingly having a rave until about 3am, the neighbours downstairs having a huge row in the hallway for about 45 minutes, slamming doors and calling each other all sorts, our adjoining neighbour leaving her alarm clock going off all day on several occasions and our other adjoining neighbours talk unnecessarily loud to each other at all times to the extent that we can hear every word of their conversations - and slam their door shut every time they go in and out, children on the lower floors who scream and shout early on the weekends and a crazy woman who mashes her piano and yells out the window loudly on a Sunday morning.

Not once though have we ever complained about any of it. If you live in a city centre in an apartment block with paper thin walls then that is the price you have to pay.

Yet... today, I received an email from the landlord's agency saying that "several" neighbours have complained about "often" being disturbed by noise from our apartment.

We don't have much to do with any of our neighbours but 99% of them that we do see we pass greetings to on our way in and out of the building. One of them however has from day one been sour-faced and unfriendly since she moved in. She flat out blanks us, scowls if we see her in the street and sadly she also happens to be our landlord's daughter.

I am pretty sure that it is her who is complaining about us and I am pretty sure that even if we were Trappist monks she would find something to get on our case about.

We love our apartment and certainly do not want to leave, which is why since our initial housewarming party was deemed too rowdy two years ago we have stopped having anybody over to visit and made a real effort to avoid making undue noise as we didn't want to risk upsetting anyone else. I just kind of feel that we are being victimised and blamed for non-existent noise or at the least being blamed for the same kind/level of noise that we put up with from our neighbours.

Obviously it is only my word saying that we are not having massive parties every night, but we are genuinely not. Just had to have a bit of a rant about it as it has thoroughly pissed me off but I know whatever argument we put up in defence would be brushed aside. I don't want to start complaining about every slammed door or coughing fit from our unfriendly neighbour as that is just stooping to her level, but just sitting back and taking a telling off over something I don't believe we are doing is very frustrating.

Sad

Posted: 23-04-2013 17:33 Post subject:

Very sorry to hear that, can't offer a solution but I know what it's like to have unfriendly neighbours so I can sympathise. Hope you can work something out that doesn't involve you walking on eggshells for the rest of your lives.

Posted: 24-04-2013 10:55 Post subject:

Aww that's awful. Could you talk to your landlord and explain your side of the story?

Posted: 24-04-2013 11:04 Post subject:

It's impossible for reasonable people to deal with the unreasonable, they lack the insight and reflective virtues that others have, and the first indication is their hypocrisy, accusing others of things they are guilty of themselves.
I found that my interest in real crime helped somewhat when moving to a new house, I buy plenty of cheap paperbacks about serial killers and I used to put them in the porch for recycling before we all got the wheelie bins and an unpaid part time job working for Serco.
Strangely,no one ever bothers me. Very Happy

Posted: 24-04-2013 11:32 Post subject:

I'd suggest going to the agency, or possibly the landlord, in person - rather than just corresponding. Ask for specific complaints that have been made against you - dates and times and the nature of the activity being complained about, if possible. Of course, emphasise that you yourself are often disturbed and ask if the complaints made could not possibly have been misdirected. Also, write a letter to your immediate neighbours explaining that complaints have been made against you and that you are sorry if people have been inconvenienced but it really has nothing to do with you - this might be slightly riskier, however it might flush things out, especially if you then find out that none of the complaints are generated from those who are in the position to be most affected; it might even get your immediate neighbours onside, especially if they have themselves been the subject of complaints from the same source, which might not be unlikely.

I've been through a similar situation myself, which was clearly manufactured by a particular individual in order to deflect attention away from their own anti-social behaviour. I got her bang to rights though - after a couple of years of mid-level mither she ramped things up and made a series of serious complaints over a two week period, claiming that the levels of noise were now intolerable. (My direct neighbours never made any complaints - in fact they both claimed never to know if I was at home or working away). I was working in Denmark at the time, and had been for weeks (I live on my own) - when I proved that to the landlord he ripped up all her complaints and advised her that her behaviour might constitute harrasment. Funnily enough, she shut up.

Posted: 24-04-2013 12:03 Post subject:

We used to have a neighbour like that. I used to get visits from the council with complaints about a noisy dog-we've never had one, noisy birds- they were lorikeets that perched on our tree on their way through, noisy guinea pigs- we had one that lived in a cage on the other side of the house, messy leaves from a tree- it belonged to a house in the next court.
She was the one who used to ring the fire brigade whenever I took one of my daughters to the bus. Thank goodness she moved and we have nice Indian neighbours now.

Posted: 24-04-2013 12:15 Post subject:

Good to hear that I'm not the only one who has suffered this, I was beginning to think that perhaps we really are very noisy!

The problem with going to the landlord directly is that the neighbour we believe is complaining is the landlord's daughter... Confused

She moved in about 6 months after we did, replacing neighbours who were perfectly pleasant, and never complained about us making any noise. First time we met her she complained that she could hear us through the wall and ever since has never spoken to us or even acknowledged our existence when we have passed her.

We do have neighbours downstairs who are never shy to complain and we have seen them both in the past week and neither said anything.

This morning our 'suspect' came in and out twice, both times slamming the door. If you are on the floor below I guess there is no real way of knowing which door on the floor above has been slammed.

I asked the landlord's agency for clarification as to exactly what the noise is but she said she would have to get clarification and get back to me, which seemed odd as surely if they had received complaints they would have the details right there.

Will have to wait and see what happens...

Posted: 24-04-2013 21:02 Post subject:

I hope that you get it sorted.

Posted: 24-06-2013 08:38 Post subject:

Peace at last as TV and stereo equipment taken from noisy home
7:00am Monday 24th June 2013 in Truro

Cornwall Council have joined forces with police to give some people living near a noisy home some much needed peace and quiet.
Council officers entered an address in St Austell on June 18 and confiscated equipment used to cause a noise nuisance.

A Noise Abatement Notice was served on the occupier of the premises in Trevail Way, St. Austell, in May 2012 following evidence of loud music causing a disturbance to neighbouring residents.
The Council’s noise monitoring equipment was used to record the noise from the property and officers from the public health and protection team also visited and witnessed the noise.

Despite previous warnings after the noise abatement notice was served, the occupant of the property continued to cause unreasonable disturbance to their neighbours.

Following the breach of the legal notice, a warrant was obtained and the property was entered and noise making equipment removed. The equipment removed included a large television, surround sound system, stereo system and speakers. Twisted Evil

Authorised officers are able to enter in such instances, by force if necessary, and can remove any equipment that could be used to cause a noise nuisance – this can include televisions, games consoles, CD and DVD players and other such equipment.
The removed equipment will be retained for a minimum of 28 days and Cornwall Council also has the option to prosecute the offender which could result in a fine of up to £5,000.

The Noise Abatement Notice will remain in force ensuring that any new equipment brought into the property can be dealt with in the same manner should the need arise.

A spokesman from Devon and Cornwall Police said: “Devon and Cornwall Police are dedicated to working together with partner agencies to reduce the fear of crime and anti-social behaviour in the local communities. This is a good example of where agencies can work together to stop local people from suffering from anti-social behaviour as anti-social behaviour will not be tolerated.

Complaints about noise pollution can be made to the Environmental Protection Team at Cornwall Council via your local one stop shop, by telephoning 0300 1234 212 or through your local Councillor.

http://www.falmouthpacket.co.uk/news/truro/10498393.Peace_at_last_as_TV_and_stereo_equipment_taken_from_noisy_home/?ref=ec

Posted: 24-06-2013 12:36 Post subject:

Excellent!

Posted: 24-06-2013 12:44 Post subject:

They have been doing this for some time in Manchester but it requires months of monitoring the misery before they reach that stage. Sad

I wish they would confiscate my neighbour's mobile phone. As an isolated "indoor Asian" woman she clearly has a rotten life but her incessant bleating is driving me insane. I can only assume the person on the receiving end of her endless whinging has an even harder life. Probably they leave the phone on the table as Mrs. A. does not pause long enough for any responses to be made.

Now back to Youtube and "Low Throbbing Bass" 10 hour version. If she complains about that, I will point out the off-switch is effectively in her house! Evil or Very Mad

Posted: 25-06-2013 12:42 Post subject:

Posted: 01-07-2013 08:17 Post subject:

A friend of mine, who lived in a basement flat just off Leith Walk in Edinburgh, had a genuine lunatic living above him - went loupy (see what I did there?) in the run up to a full-moon and ran around the street howling in his underpants.

The guy was eventually sectioned and an Asian family moved into the flat. One afternoon a couple of weeks later, just when my friend and his wife had finally started to relax a little, the entire flat started to vibrate violently. Turned out the new occupants had set up a little side line for themselves by way of a laundry. They'd set up eight washing machines with some creative plumbing via another empty flat in the block - when they hit the spin cycle it sounded like a Chinook was landing in the kitchen.

A couple of nights into it - before the council had time to respond to neighbours complaints - the plumbing committed suicide, and the entire basement was deluged in soapy water resulting in a two month sojourn on mates floors while it all got sorted out.

Nay luck – as they say in that neck of the woods.

Posted: 03-07-2013 23:32 Post subject:

did I tell you about the fella who lives next door watching blue movies at top volume? because I can't tell you about what I've heard, not on a polite forum such as this.