The council has a statutory duty to investigate complaints about artificial light from premises if the light could be classed as a statutory nuisance (covered by the Environmental Protection Act 1990).
For the artificial light to count as a statutory nuisance it must do one of the following:
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unreasonably and substantially interfere with the use or enjoyment of a home or other premises.
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injure health or be likely to injure health.
Many factors are considered in determining if the light issue reaches the threshold to be a statutory nuisance, including:
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Duration
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Frequency
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Impact - i.e., material interference with use of property or personal well-being; actually, or likely to be adverse to health.
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Local environment
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Motive - i.e., reasonableness of the behaviour of the subject
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Sensitivity of the complainant – statutory nuisance relies on the concept of the average person and is not designed to take account of unusual sensitivities.
Lighting schemes for new building developments may have conditions imposed as part of planning permission to ensure that no light pollution is created. If such lighting causes concern, contact our planning team
There are exemptions to this legislation; the following sources of artificial light cannot be treated as a Statutory Nuisance:
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Airports
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Harbours
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Railway premises
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Tramway premises
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Bus stations
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Public transport operating centres
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Goods vehicle operating centres
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Lighthouses
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Prisons
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Defence premises like army bases
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Premises occupied by visiting armed forces
What you can do
If possible, please contact the person responsible for the artificial light issue and discuss it with them. This is often the best way to resolve the problem.
What do we mean by the 'person responsible'?
The person responsible is the person who is causing the light issue, or the owner/occupier of the residential or business premises where the light is coming from.
If the property where the issue is coming from is rented, we recommend you contact the landlord or housing association to report the problem and request they take action.
If you are having difficulty approaching the person responsible, you could write to them. A letter template with some suggested wording can be downloaded here.
It can help to keep a record of the issue for your own reference. This will also act as evidence if the noise becomes an ongoing problem which you need us to investigate. We recommend you use our nuisance diary sheets for this, to help you capture the right information. Click here to download.
A further option may be to take your own legal action for statutory nuisance under Section 82 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990. This allows a Magistrates' Court to act on a complaint made by any person on the grounds that they are aggrieved by the existence of a statutory nuisance.
What we can do
We can investigate this problem if:
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It cannot be resolved by contacting the person responsible.
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It is causing a statutory nuisance. This means it unreasonably and significantly interferes with the use or enjoyment of your home or other premises. You must experience it regularly or for an extended period of time. We do not investigate one-off incidents as these are unlikely to be considered a statutory noise nuisance.
You will need:
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Your address and contact details
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The address of the source of the noise