Environmental Protection Team Pest Control Service Bath and

Environmental Protection Team & Pest Control Service, Bath and North East Somerset Council Cathryn Humphries Aled Williams Diarmid Henry Bath and North East Somerset – The place to live, work and visit

Aim of presentation Ø What we do? Ø How to contact us Ø How do we investigate? Ø What techniques do we use? Ø How you can help us Ø What can we legally do? Ø What we have done to improve customer experience Ø Q&A Bath and North East Somerset – The place to live, work and visit

What do we do? Investigate nuisance from: Ø Noise Ø Odour from businesses Ø Bonfire smoke Ø Artificial Light Ø Dust Ø Accumulation of waste Ø Pest Control Bath and North East Somerset – The place to live, work and visit

How to contact us Ø Environmental Protection: Ø Tel: 01225 477551 Ø Email: Environmental_protection@bathnes. gov. uk Ø Out of hours: 01225 477477 Bath and North East Somerset – The place to live, work and visit

How do we investigate? Ø How often it occurs Ø How long it occurs for Ø Time of occurrence Ø Characteristics of the area Ø Intensity/volume of issue Ø “Unreasonableness of the issue” Bath and North East Somerset – The place to live, work and visit

Our techniques for gathering evidence: Ø Diary sheets Ø Noise monitoring equipment Ø The Noise App Ø Planned visits Where possible we seek to resolve the matter informally – leaflets Bath and North East Somerset – The place to live, work and visit

How you can help us with the investigation… Ø Be clear about where the problem is coming from Ø Complete the diary sheets, do recordings either on the Noise App or using our monitoring equipment- we cannot act without evidence Ø Whilst we will act as quickly as we can, the problem cannot always be solved immediatelybear with us Ø Support our case with witness statements (if necessary) Bath and North East Somerset – The place to live, work and visit

What are the legal sanctions? Ø ‘Nuisance Abatement Notices’ intend to deal with ongoing problems that ‘materially interfere’ with the use of the someone’s property, e. g. music noise which prevents someone from sleeping Ø The ‘Community Protection Notice’ (CPN) is intended to deal with particular, ongoing problems or nuisances which negatively affect the community’s quality of life by targeting those responsible. Bath and North East Somerset – The place to live, work and visit

CPN v’s Abatement Notice Community Protection Notice Ø Behaviour is unreasonable, persistent and affecting Quality of Life Ø Fixed Penalty Notice provision Ø Max. fine on conviction is £ 2500 Ø Courts can order remedial works on conviction Noise Abatement Notice Ø Materially affecting the use of your property Ø No Fixed Penalty Notice provision Ø Max fine on conviction £ 5000 Ø Power of undertaking remedial works in default i. e. seizing music equipment Bath and North East Somerset – The place to live, work and visit

Process for Community Protection Notices Bath and North East Somerset – The place to live, work and visit

How we have improved… Ø Since moving to using Duty Officers, customers now receive quality conversations with the person able to answer questions straight away Ø We have been able to reduce the number of days before the first contact by 75% and the number of days before the first action by 78% Bath and North East Somerset – The place to live, work and visit

How we have improved… Ø The number of contacts the customer has with the office has reduced by 33% and the investigation period has reduced by 50% Ø There is a consistency in approach thanks to new protocols (including the Duty Book). Ø We also have a customer service questionnaire that goes to customers so we are able to continually improve Bath and North East Somerset – The place to live, work and visit

Any Questions? Contact us » Environmental Protection: » Tel: 01225 477551 » Email: Environmental_protection@bathnes. gov. uk § Pest Control: § Tel: 01225 396007 § Email: council_connect@bathnes. gov. uk Bath and North East Somerset – The place to live, work and visit