Council cuts put 24/7 complaints service at risk

LOUD neighbours could be left unchallenged for days after proposals to shut down the council's anti-noise team during weekdays were put forward.

• Anti-noise officer Andrea Hull checks out sound on the Royal Mile

In light of the huge cuts to the city's budget, senior figures suggested that Edinburgh's noise nuisance service - which currently operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week - should be reduced to the weekend, when 70 per cent of complaints are made by the public.

Already the council has indicated that a third of the 30 employees in the department, who deal with building and traffic noise as well as neighbour issues, will be slashed.

Currently 14 people work for the council's noise department daily, but under the new proposals employees would only operate at the weekend.

It means that complaints made early in the week would not be tackled for days, unless the police were called out.

Speaking at the public meeting Susan Mooney, head of community safety, said: "The 24-hour noise services are relatively expensive to run. About 70 per cent of noise complaints are received over the weekend, so do we look at operating this service only at the weekend, or do we continue to provide the service over seven days but stretch it thinner?"

She added that police would be able to tackle more serious complaints, but concerned residents suggested that an on-call noise worker would be more appropriate.

Labour councillor Ewan Aitken, a former council leader, slammed the decision, calling it "nonsensical" and "unfair".

He said: "Just because 70 per cent of complaints are made on the weekend, this doesn't mean the loudest complaints are made then."

"If somebody is noisy on Friday night, it doesn't mean this is any more in need of attention than something that happens during the week. Whose complaint do you deal with first? The person who calls when you are on duty or the backlog already sitting at your desk?"

A spokesman for the city council said no final decision had been made on the nature of community cuts. He said: "We are aware that the majority of calls come into the noise teams at the weekend. Officers are looking at possible options based on the level of demand and will look further at the impact of the proposals."