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CHAPTER SIX: RESIDENTS' SURVEY
Introduction
6.1 This section presents the findings of a door-to-door survey of residents located in each of the eight sample Local Authorities 8. The survey, conducted by Research Resource, consisted of 10-minute interviews with 799 residents. Areas targeted were those identified by case study Local Authorities as having a relatively high concentration of complaints made to the noise nuisance service. DTZ, in conjunction with the Scottish Executive, designed the questionnaire used for the survey. The residents' questionnaire is provided in Appendix E. This section is structured as follows:
- Profile of population
- General Views on Antisocial Behaviour
- General Views on Noise Nuisance
- Experiences of Noise Nuisance
- Reporting Noise Nuisance
Profile of population
6.2 As illustrated in Figure 6.1, the number of residents surveyed was split equally between each of the eight sample Local Authorities. The specific areas targeted for the survey within each LA were chosen following consultations with NIOs in each LA. The areas chosen for the survey were identified by NIOs as being areas in which the noise service frequently operates. Therefore the findings will not be typical of views of neighbourhoods in Scotland in general, but will describe the views and experiences of residents living in neighbourhoods where the NIOs have been particularly busy, i.e. "noisier neighbourhoods".
Figure 6.1 Geographical Breakdown of Respondents
Note to figure
Source: Residents' Survey
6.3 Previous research on noise nuisance (see chapter 2) has indicated that the house type and tenure is a critical risk factor in the likelihood of noise nuisance being experienced. Figure 6.2 illustrated the type of housing occupied by each survey respondent at the time of the survey. The majority of respondents (61%) live in a flat. While the vast majority of remaining respondents (37%) live in a house, 2% of those surveyed were in sheltered accommodation.
Figure 6.2 Type of Housing
Note to figure
Source: Residents' Survey
General views on antisocial behaviour
6.4 Prior to exploring residents' views on noise nuisance, it is useful to establish initially residents' views on antisocial behaviour in general. This process is necessary in order to explore the relationship between antisocial noise nuisance and more general antisocial behaviour.
6.5 As illustrated in Figure 6.3, half of respondents claimed that antisocial behaviour was a problem in their local area. Just under a third (31%) believe that antisocial behaviour is a slight problem. A significant proportion (19%) claimed that antisocial behaviour is a major problem.
Figure 6.3 To what extent is anti-social behaviour a problem in your area?
Note to figure
Source: Residents' Survey
6.6 As illustrated in Figure 6.4, over a third of respondents (34%) believe that the level of antisocial behaviour has changed in the last couple of years, with the majority of these respondents believing that the level of antisocial behaviour has worsened. Most believe that there has been no change.
Figure 6.4 In your experience, has the level of anti-social behaviour changed in the past couple of years?
Note to figure
Source: Residents' Survey
6.7 As illustrated in Figure 6.5, with respect to age groups, the majority of responses (45%) indicated that teenagers are the cause of antisocial behaviour. There is clearly a strong belief that substance misuse (i.e. heavy/binge drinking and/or drug use) is the cause of antisocial behaviour. Indeed, over half of responses indicated that either heavy/binge drinking or drug use was the cause of antisocial behaviour. A large proportion of people, however, do not seem to know the cause. This is perhaps because of the wide range of situations in which ASB can occur.
Figure 6.5 Who do you think is the cause of anti-social behaviour?
Note to figure
Source: Residents' Survey
6.8 As illustrated in Figure 6.6, the majority of respondents believe that the responsibility for tackling antisocial behaviour lies primarily with the police. A significant proportion (35%) indicated that their LA is responsible for tackling antisocial behaviour.
Figure 6.6 Which agencies are responsible for tackling ASB?
Note to figure
Source: Residents' Survey
General views on noise nuisance
6.9 Having established some general views on antisocial behaviour, this section explores residents' views on antisocial noise nuisance. The following section explore the extent to which noise nuisance is a problem, the cause of the problem, and any experience of means of resolving the problem - whether this be through informal approaches between neighbours or formal invention through public agencies. As illustrated in Figure 6.7, just under half of respondents (46%) indicated that noise nuisance in a problem in their area. A third of residents claim that noise nuisance is a slight problem while 13% believe noise nuisance to be a major problem.
Figure 6.7 To what extent is nuisance noise a problem in your area?
Note to figure
Source: Residents' Survey
6.10 As illustrated in Figure 6.8, while the majority of respondents believe that the level of nuisance noise has not changed over the last couple of years, 18% believe that noise nuisance is now more of a problem than it used to be. Just 7% of respondents believe that noise nuisance has lessened in the last couple of years.
Figure 6.8 In your experience has the level of nuisance noise changed in the past couple of years?
Note to figure
Source: Residents' Survey
6.11 As illustrated in Figure 6.9 and similar to the results for ASB more generally, respondents regard teenagers as the main cause of noise nuisance. It is more likely for young children to be regarded as the cause of nuisance noise in comparison to adults. Similar to respondents' views on the causes of antisocial behaviour, heavy/binge drinking and drug use are regarded as main causes of noise nuisance. While consultations with NIOs revealed that inadequate sound insulation is a common cause of nuisance noise, just 8% of responses cited housing as a cause of nuisance noise. This perhaps confirms the feeling amongst NOIs, that there is a misunderstanding of how sound insulation and building standards influence noise problems, and that it requires specialist knowledge and expertise to identify the cause of the problem.
Figure 6.9 Who or what do you think is the cause of noise nuisance?
Note to figure
Source: Residents' Survey
6.12 Again similar to views on ASB more generally, the majority of respondents believe that the responsibility for tackling noise nuisance lies primarily with the police. However, over half of all responses indicated that the Local Authorities were responsible for tackling noise nuisance. Interestingly, it appears that residents recognise the role of LAs in tackling noise nuisance than tackling antisocial behaviour in general.
Figure 6.10 Which agencies are responsible for tackling noise nuisance?
Note to figure
Source: Residents' Survey
6.13 While a significant proportion of respondents recognised that their LA had responsibility for tackling nuisance noise, as illustrated in Figure 6.11 under a third of respondents (31%) claimed they knew that their LA operate a service to deal with noise nuisance. This can perhaps be explained by the lack of publicity of the service in many areas as revealed in the LA consultations, and has a strong correlation to the MORI (2003) findings and conclusions, which suggested the need for more communication campaigns on noise problems and how they can be tackled.
Figure 6.11 Does your Local Authority provide a service to deal with noise nuisance?
Note to figure
Source: Residents' Survey
6.14 Of those aware of the service operated by their LA, word-of-mouth was the most common way for respondents to find out about the service. A quarter of those surveyed who knew about the service first became aware of the service by reading a leaflet. A significant proportion of these respondents (20%) found out about the service after contacting their LA directly. Marketing activity by LAs appears to be less effective in raising awareness of the service. However, including leaflets, 47% of these respondents were made aware of the service by some form of proactive marketing by their LA.
Figure 6.12 How did you become aware of this service?
Note to figure
Source: Residents' Survey
6.15 Exploring further the extent of public awareness of noise nuisance services revealed that the vast majority (83%) of respondents were not aware of the various mechanisms/penalties that can be used to address noise nuisance.
Figure 6.13 Do you know the various control mechanisms/penalties that can be used to address noise nuisance?
Note to figure
Source: Residents' Survey
6.16 As illustrated in Figure 6.14, there are mixed views on the effectiveness of the various control mechanisms used to address noise nuisance. It appears that respondents did not have a strong view either way, with concentration in the 'neither effective nor ineffective' category. Written warning notices are regarded as the least effective control mechanism. While a fixed penalty notice is regarded as a relatively effective measure, respondents view other measures (i.e. resolving the problem themselves/informal mediation) as being more effective. This confirms evidence from the NIOs survey and previous research (see chapter 2) which also suggests a preference towards informal resolution.
Figure 6.14 How effective are these measures?
Note to figure
Source: Residents' Survey
Experiences of noise nuisance
6.17 Further to exploring residents' views on noise nuisance, the survey examined in more depth residents' experiences of noise nuisance. As illustrated in Figure 6.15, 28% of residents hear noise from their neighbour(s); 12% of respondents heard noise regularly or all the time. As illustrated in Figure 6.16, the vast majority of those who hear noise from their neighbour(s) are annoyed by this noise. Both these findings bear a strong correlation to the MORI (2003) research. This showed a similar proportion of the population experiencing noise problems, but for those that do experience the problem, it has a significant impact on their quality of life.
Figure 6.15 Do you hear noise from your neighbours?
Note to figure
Source: Residents' Survey
Figure 6.16 Does this noise annoy you?
Note to figure
Source: Residents' Survey
6.18 As illustrated in Figure 6.17, while a third of respondents claim that noise nuisance is worst at weekends, the clear majority of respondents (63%) claim that the extent of noise nuisance is not dependent on the day of the week. This is interesting given that a number of the LAs surveyed do not operate a 24/7 service throughout the week.
Figure 6.17 On what days is the noise nuisance worst?
Note to figure
Source: Residents' Survey
6.19 Residents are most sensitive to nuisance noise during the night (i.e. 2200-0600) and during the evenings (1800-2200). These findings are consistent with the findings of BRE (1999), namely: the number of complainants reporting disturbance broadly increases throughout the day from 06:00 until 23:00; most disturbances are reported between 22:00 and 02:00; lowest levels of disturbance occur between 05:00 and 12:00; music was principally responsible for complaints in the period 18:00 to 03:00; and other noises tend to cause more disturbance in the mornings (07:00 to 10:00) and afternoon (15:00 to 17:00).
Figure 6.18 At what times is the noise nuisance a problem?
Note to figure
Source: Residents' Survey
6.20 As illustrated in Figure 6.19, shouting and music are significantly more likely to be identified as sources of noise nuisance than animal noise, vehicle noise or environmental noise.
Figure 6.19 What type of noise nuisance is a problem?
Note to figure
Source: Residents' Survey
Reporting noise nuisance
6.21 Further to examining residents' views and experiences of noise nuisance, we also explored attitudes towards reporting noise nuisance, which may help in understanding how best to develop, market and target noise nuisance services. As illustrated in Figure 6.20, opinion to this question was divided, with 44% claiming that they never report nuisance noise and 42% claiming that they always report nuisance noise.
Figure 6.20 Do you report nuisance noise?
Note to figure
Source: Residents' Survey
6.22 As illustrated in Figure 6.21, approximately a quarter of respondents claimed that they would not report nuisance noise due to intimidation from those making the noise. Similarly, a further 13% of respondents claimed that they would not report nuisance noise due to the stigma of this. A relatively large proportion of respondents (19%) stated that they would not report nuisance noise due to their lack of confidence in the problem being resolved. A further 17% of respondents would not report noise nuisance, preferring to resolve the problem themselves. These findings are consistent to those of the MORI (2003) research where either 'doing nothing to keep the peace', or informal resolution, were the preferred options. Where formal action was sought, the public required a speedy resolution to the matter.
Figure 6.21 Why would you choose not to report nuisance noise?
Note to figure
Source: Residents' Survey
6.23 As illustrated in Figure 6.22, over half of respondents claimed that they would report nuisance noise to the police. While 79% of respondents claim that they would report nuisance noise to their LA, just 39% specified the noise nuisance service. This emphasises the importance of cooperation and communication between different LA departments and the need for increasing public awareness of the service and for increased publicity as to what the proper arrangements should be.
Figure 6.22 To whom would you report nuisance noise?
Note to figure
Source: Residents' Survey
6.24 Figure 6.23 illustrates the factors that influence people to report nuisance noise to any given agency/authority. Clearly, it is important that any agency dealing with noise complaints should be easily contactable and 29% claim that this is the main factor when choosing to report nuisance noise. Over a quarter of respondents claim that their choice of agency to report nuisance noise to is a result of a lack of awareness of any other appropriate services. While a quarter of respondents claim that experience and skills of dealing with noise complaints is their main consideration when deciding to which agency they will complain, just 15% of respondents claimed to consider the effectiveness of said agency in resolving the complaint.
Figure 6.23 Why would you choose to report noise nuisance to that agency/ organisation as opposed to any other agency/ authority?
Note to figure
Source: Residents' Survey
6.25 As illustrated in Figure 6.24, respondents' views on the effectiveness of the agency to which they report nuisance noise are generally negative. 42% believe that their complaints are dealt with "very ineffectively". In contrast, just 10% feel that their complaints are dealt with "very effectively". This demonstrates some public dissatisfaction with the dealing of their complaints.
Figure 6.24 How effectively do they deal with your complaint?
Note to figure
Source: Residents' Survey
Summary
6.26 This section presents the findings of a door-to-door survey of residents located in each of the eight sample Local Authorities. The survey, conducted by Research Resource, consisted of 10-minute interviews with 799 residents.
General views on antisocial behaviour
6.27 Half of respondents claimed that antisocial behaviour was a problem in their local area. Just under a third believe that antisocial behaviour is a slight problem. A significant proportion (19%) claimed that antisocial behaviour is a major problem.
6.28 Over a third of respondents believe that the level of antisocial behaviour has changed in the last couple of years. The majority of these respondents believe that the level of antisocial behaviour has become worse.
6.29 Forty five percent of respondents stated that teenagers are the cause of antisocial behaviour. There is clearly a strong belief that substance misuse (i.e. heavy/binge drinking and/or drug use) is a cause of antisocial behaviour.
6.30 The majority of respondents believe that the responsibility for tackling antisocial behaviour lies primarily with the police. Over a third stated that their LA is responsible for tackling antisocial behaviour.
General views on noise nuisance
6.31 Just under half of respondents claimed that noise nuisance in a problem in their area. A third of residents claim that noise nuisance is a slight problem while 13% believe noise nuisance to be a major problem.
6.32 Respondents regard teenagers as the main cause of noise nuisance. It is more likely for young children to be regarded as the cause of nuisance noise in comparison to adults. Similar to respondents' views on the causes of antisocial behaviour, heavy/binge drinking and drug use are regarded as main causes of noise nuisance.
6.33 The majority of respondents believe that the responsibility for tackling noise nuisance lies primarily with the police. Under a third of respondents claimed they knew that their LA operate a service to deal with noise nuisance.
6.34 Word-of-mouth was the most common way for respondents to find out about the service. Including leaflets, 47% of these respondents were made aware of the service by some form of proactive marketing by their LA.
6.35 The vast majority (83%) of respondents were not aware of the various mechanisms/penalties that can be used to address noise nuisance. When questioned about the effectiveness of these measures, written warning notices are regarded as the least effective control mechanism. While a fixed penalty notice is regarded as a relatively effective measure, respondents view other measures (i.e. resolving the problem themselves/informal mediation) as being more effective at resolving noise disputes.
Experiences of noise nuisance
6.36 28% of residents hear noise from their neighbour(s). 12% of respondents heard noise regularly or all the time.
6.37 The vast majority of respondents (63%) claim that the extent of noise nuisance is not dependant on the day of the week.
6.38 Residents are most sensitive to nuisance noise during the night (i.e. 2200-0600) and during the evenings (1800-2200).
6.39 Shouting and music are more likely to be identified as sources of noise nuisance than animal noise, vehicle noise or environmental noise.
Reporting noise nuisance
6.40 Approximately a quarter of respondents claimed that they would not report nuisance noise due to intimidation from those making the noise. Similarly, a further 13% of respondents claimed that they would not report nuisance noise due to the stigma from other local residents. A relatively large proportion of respondents (19%) stated that they would not report nuisance noise due to their lack of confidence in the problem being resolved. A further 17% of respondents would not report noise nuisance, preferring to resolve the problem themselves.
6.41 Over half of respondents claimed that they would report nuisance noise to the police. While 79% of respondents claim that they would report nuisance noise their LA, just 39% specified the noise nuisance service. This emphasises the importance of cooperation and communication between different LA departments and the need for increasing public awareness of the service.
6.42 Clearly, it is important that any agency dealing with noise complaints should be easily contactable. 29% of respondents claimed that this is the main factor when choosing to report nuisance noise. Over 40% of complainants believe that their complaints are dealt with "very ineffectively", while 10% believe that their complaints are dealt with "very effectively".
6.43 Overall, then, the residents survey has produced some interesting results concerning the public's views and perceptions of noise nuisance and antisocial behaviour more generally.
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