Resident complaints lead to prosecution of noisy poultry owner by council
A poultry owner who left neighbours distressed and unable to sleep due to the noise has been fined after being prosecuted by the local council.
According to East Lindsey District Council, the man was found guilty of breaching an Abatement Notice served under Section 80 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 due to numerous complaints of excessive noise caused by a large number of chickens, cockerels and guinea fowl next to residential properties in Dogdyke, near Coningsby.
In a statement, ELDC said: “The site, which the individual did not own or have permission to use, took up 530 square metres - about the size of two tennis courts. The plot of land included wire fences and multiple makeshift structures used to house the various types of poultry.
“With complaints from neighbours beginning in July of 2023, the council investigated and through use of noise monitoring equipment found noise coming from the site was four times higher than the point at which the World Health Organisation indicates that sleep disturbance would occur. Nearby families were unable to open their windows due to the level of noise and reportedly left young children distressed due to a lack of sleep.”
The council said it repeatedly offered advice and guidance to the owner, which included reducing the numbers of livestock and housing them overnight to reduce noise, but the Environmental Health team were left with “no choice” but to serve an Abatement Notice, which the authority said was then breached multiple times where noise again was a significant problem for nearby residents.
The council said the number of cockerels were reduced, but the owner still failed to successfully reduce the noise from those that remained, particularly in the early hours of the morning.
The council took the owner to Lincoln Magistrates Court on Thursday July 3 and successfully prosecuted on both counts of breaching the Noise Abatement Notice. He was issued a total fine for both offences of £120, court costs of £4,350 and a surcharge of £48, giving a total to pay of £4,518.
Following the case, Councillor Martin Foster, ELDC Portfolio Holder for Operational Services, said: "I'd like to thank our Environmental Health team for all their hard work, this shows our unwavering commitment as a council to protect our residents from unacceptable noise nuisance.
"Prosecuting noise nuisance cases can be notoriously difficult, but the team's approach of thorough evidence gathering, measured enforcement and persistence paid off with this result."