{"id":596104,"date":"2025-11-27T00:52:17","date_gmt":"2025-11-27T00:52:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/596104\/"},"modified":"2025-11-27T00:52:17","modified_gmt":"2025-11-27T00:52:17","slug":"belfast-has-highest-rate-of-noise-complaints-in-ni-with-barking-dogs-the-biggest-gripe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/596104\/","title":{"rendered":"Belfast has highest rate of noise complaints in NI \u2013 with barking dogs the biggest gripe"},"content":{"rendered":"

The findings are contained in the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs\u2019 (DAERA) Noise Complaint Statistics 2024\/25 report, published today.<\/p>\n

A noise complaint refers to a formal request for the local council to investigate noise disturbances that cause annoyance to residents.<\/p>\n

The annual report outlines the number and nature of complaints received by district councils between 1 April 2024 and 31 March 2025, offering a picture of noise disruption across the region.<\/p>\n

Overall, councils dealt with 9,716 complaints during the period \u2014 a 9% decrease on the previous year\u2019s total of 10,684.<\/p>\n

\"Belfast<\/p>\n

Belfast has recorded the highest rate of noise complaints in Northern Ireland<\/p>\n

DAERA said nine of the 11 local authorities reported a reduction in complaints, suggesting a broad fall in noise-related issues across most council areas.<\/p>\n

Belfast City Council recorded the highest rate, with 13.18 complaints per 1,000 residents.<\/p>\n

The capital consistently registers the highest volumes, attributed to its population density, busy night-time economy, and concentration of domestic and commercial properties.<\/p>\n

At the other end of the scale, Newry, Mourne and Down District Council reported the lowest rate, at 1.95 complaints per 1,000 people.<\/p>\n

Domestic noise remained the largest single driver of complaints, accounting for nearly three-quarters (74.88%) of all cases submitted to councils.<\/p>\n

Within that category, animal noise \u2014 predominantly barking dogs \u2014 was the most common source, making up 41% of all domestic complaints.<\/p>\n

A further 33% related to loud music, televisions or parties, underscoring the pressures faced by councils when responding to neighbourhood and household disputes.<\/p>\n

\"Belfast<\/p>\n

Belfast has recorded the highest rate of noise complaints across Northern Ireland (Stock image)<\/p>\n

Belfast History Explained: Who was Mary Ann McCracken?<\/p>\n

Commercial and leisure premises were responsible for 11.54% of complaints, reflecting noise generated by pubs, clubs, restaurants and entertainment venues. Smaller proportions of cases related to noise in the street (4.26%), construction activity (3.61%), transport (2.92%) and industrial sources (2.78%).<\/p>\n

Councils investigated 78% of all complaints received, though the report notes that many were found to be unsubstantiated.<\/p>\n

Sixteen per cent were substantiated but resolved without the need for a formal notice, while 6% were still under investigation when the figures were submitted to the department.<\/p>\n

Enforcement action also saw a small decline with councils serving 153 notices in 2024\/25, down 6% from the 162 issued in 2023\/24.<\/p>\n

The number of prosecutions rose slightly, with four taken forward in 2024\/25 compared to three the previous year.<\/p>\n

The department said animal noise and loud music remain the most significant sources of domestic disturbance, echoing trends seen in previous years.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The findings are contained in the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs\u2019 (DAERA) Noise Complaint Statistics 2024\/25…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":596105,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5011],"tags":[2378,5813,23668,23669,1249,5821,5820,1144,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-596104","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-northern-ireland","8":"tag-belfast","9":"tag-belfast-city-council","10":"tag-department-of-agriculture","11":"tag-environment-rural-affairs-daera","12":"tag-kurtis-reid","13":"tag-mourne-and-down-district-council","14":"tag-newry","15":"tag-northern-ireland","16":"tag-uk","17":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/596104","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=596104"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/596104\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/596105"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=596104"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=596104"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=596104"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}