NOISY neighbours, loud parties, roaring car engines and screaming children.

There are many things that can prompt people to pick up the phone and call district councils about the volume in our areas.

But in West Oxfordshire, it is claimed that good weather last year was behind a huge jump in complaints about noise.

The district has seen the largest increase in the county, rising by more than a quarter last year, according to council figures.

Statistics show that the number of complaints West Oxfordshire district council received in soared from 393, in 2012 and 2013, to 514 in 2013 and 2014.

It was the largest increase in the county – with the next being Cherwell District Council, which saw an increase of 33, to 724.

All other areas saw figures stay around the same levels as the previous year.

And it is claimed that the warm weather is to blame for a jump in noise complaints, with more people enjoying the outdoors in West Oxfordshire.

West Oxfordshire District Council's cabinet member for environment, David Harvey, said: “What I can say from experience is that it is weather related. When we have longer periods of dry weather people tend to do more things outside and create more noise.’’ Oxford is the area of the county to receive the most noise complaints each year.

Oxford City Council spokesman Louisa Dean said it was due to the city’s mixed population.

She said: “The profile of Oxford City is very different from its largely rural district neighbours. The city is a dynamic urban space with very high levels of housing density and an active night- time economy.’’ 

Between April 2012 and March 2013, it received 1600 noise complaints.

County round-up

  • Oxford: The total number of noise complaints for the 2013 calendar year was 1,517. Between April 2012 and March 2013, it received 1,600 noise complaints.
  • West Oxfordshire: Between April 2013 and March 2014, it received 514 noise complaints of which 113 were taken over the weekend, or after office hours. In 2012-13, they had 393 complaints.
  • South Oxfordshire: From April 2013 to March this year, it dealt with 469 noise complaints. For the same period between 2012 and 2013, it was one fewer, at 469.
  • Vale of White Horse: In the 2013-14 financial year, it had 313 noise complaints. Between April 2012 and March 2013, the figure was 384.
  • Cherwell: The council received 724 complaints in the year 2013-14. This was a rise from 691 in the financial year before that, running from April 2012 to March 2013.
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