3 Solutions for Noise Complaints That Protect Your Care Home
Lets face it, that letter you receive from the neighbour or the Council titled 'Noise Complaint' fills you with dread and ruins your day.
Having to put hours of your day aside to deal with complaints, speak with the council and contemplating how you're possibly going to deal with these complaints is stressful for you and your team.
But imagine coming into work, knowing you will never have to deal with another anxiety inducing noise complaint from the neighbours, or the Council ever again.
1. Proactively Engage with Your Neighbours
If you haven't already received a complaint, or there are other neighbours around you that haven't yet complained, the best way to handle noise complaints is to address them before they arise. Proactively engage with your neighbours to establish open lines of communication. Host informal meetings, send newsletters, send gifts, or offer updates on how your care home operates and the needs of your residents.
By explaining the unique circumstances of your care home, such as why certain behaviours may result in noise, you can build an understanding and patience among your neighbours. Encouraging them to communicate directly with you in a calm manner if issues arise can also prevent situations from escalating.
2. Create Structured Routines for Residents
Before you say it, yes I know you already do this to benefit your residents.... however establishing clear, structured routines for your residents, specifically outdoors activities can help minimize disruptive behaviours that lead to noise complaints.
More often than not, if a complainant knows noise will typically happen at a certain time for a certain duration, on certain days, they can accept it more, and it has significantly less impact on them than random noise instances. Granted, this is never going to be perfect and outbursts occur, but it will certainly improve your situation.
3. Collaborate with Local Authorities
However It’s also essential to understand your rights and responsibilities under noise regulations in the UK. Having this knowledge can protect your care home from unfair complaints, whilst ensuring you remain compliant with regulations.
The Environmental Health Team in your local Council won't even know you exist until they are bombarded by complaints from neighbours. It is essential that you work on building a relationship with the Environmental Health team as soon as possible.
So, knowing how to reduce noise complaints and protect your business is one thing, but actually putting this into practice is another matter... not to mention these are just 3 of many interventions that are essential when concerning noise complaints.
But don't worry, we are here to help you.
I'm WIlliam, and I specialise in Noise COmplaints.
I understand how stressful and anxiety inducing receiving a complaint can be, let alone being formally investigated by the Council.
That's why I founded WLEnvironmental. As an Environmental Health Officer I am a specialist in cutting down your stress by managing every aspect of noise complaints against you.