Noise complaints and enforcement action by local authorities in England and Wales have declined significantly since the Covid-19 pandemic, according to new data from the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH).
The CIEH Noise Complaint Data Briefing 2026 recorded 306,956 noise complaints between October 2024 and September 2025 — around 840 per day — a notable drop from the 2021 figures, which were elevated by the three national lockdowns.
London dominated the statistics, with Islington, Southwark and Hackney topping the list of complaints. Seven of the top 10 councils were London boroughs, with Manchester, Birmingham and Leeds the only non-London authorities in the top 10.
Enforcement activity has fallen steeply over the past two decades.
Abatement notices dropped by over 72%, prosecutions fell 71%, and equipment seizures decreased by nearly 79% compared to 2004/05.
The data also captured emerging noise sources, including 103 complaints about air source heat pumps and 326 about holiday lets such as Airbnbs.
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