Official Information Request - Noise Complaints

Attachment:

NZME - Noise Complaints

Response:

Sent: Friday, 26 October 2018 8:58 a.m.

Subject: TRIM: LGOIMA request - noise complaints

I refer to your email of 17 October 2018 under the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act regarding noise complaints. You asked for:

• In each of the last five years and to date this year, how many noise complaints have been made to the council?
• How many complaints in each year warranted further action? What were the actions?
• In the last year, at what residential address were the most noise complaints made about? How many complaints? And what were the complaints about?
• In the last year, at what address were the most noise complaints made about, not including residential properties? How many complaints? And what were the complaints about?

Attached is the information requested.

For bullet point three, we have provided the top 20 noisiest street but decline to identify individual properties as per section 7(2)(a) of the Act 'to protect the privacy of natural persons .'.. Also, as the complaints are varied with some calling noise a stereo and others calling noise the bass we have not broken this down per street but have given the top 10 noise types.

For bullet points three and four, as streets can be both residential and non residential, without going through each complaint we cannot identify whether the noise is from a residential or non-residential property. We therefore decline to break this down further under section 17(f) of the Act 'that the information requested cannot be made available without substantial collation or research'.

As per the Act, we are obliged to advise that you may contact the Ombudsman at the address below if you have any concerns with the response provided by Council, by writing to:

The Office of the Ombudsman

PO Box 10 152

WELLINGTON 6143

Alternatively, you may email info@ombudsman.parliament.nz or use the online complaints form available at www.ombudsman.parliament.nz/make-a-complaint.

Regards