A Rhondda woman whose barking dogs made her neighbours life a misery has been fined over £1500 for repeatedly ignoring warnings to keep the noise down and breaching an Abatement Notice.
Miss Keira Marsh, from Porth, continuously allowed her dogs to bark, causing distress to her neighbours. The neighbours contacted Rhondda Cynon Taf Council’s Environmental Health team and were advised to take sound recordings of the noise issues they were experiencing via the Noise app.
Noise nuisance is covered by the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and before action can be taken, the Council must establish the existence of a statutory nuisance. This means that the Council has to prove the noise is prejudicial to health and/or is causing an unreasonable and persistent disturbance to materially interfere with a person’s enjoyment of their property.
Following a number of sound recordings being received from complainants, it was determined further investigation was needed.
When the Council’s Environmental Health Officers visited the complainant’s property, they were able to witness the continuous barking firsthand and were satisfied a statutory noise nuisance existed. As a result of this Miss Marsh was served with an Abatement Notice by Rhondda Cynon Taf Council.
Excessive noise from neighbours can be frustrating and can cause a lot of unnecessary stress and worry. In many cases, the person making the noise is unaware that they are causing a problem and therefore the problem can be resolved quite quickly by informal means.
Where this approach fails, an Environmental Health Officer can serve a legal notice on the offending party requiring them to abate the nuisance. If such a notice is not complied with then legal action can follow.
Following the service of the Abatement Notice, Miss Marsh ignored repeated requests from the Council Environmental Health Officers to deal with the issue and failed to attend interviews at Council Offices.
A total of 225 Noise App recordings were provided by the complainants over a three-month period.
The evidence demonstrated that multiple dogs were left to bark for prolonged periods of time and the Abatement Notice had been breached.
A prosecution case was prepared and heard at Merthyr Tydfil Magistrates Court. Miss Marsh failed to attend the Court hearing and was found guilty in her absence for breaching the abatement notice on six separate occasions, thereby contravening section 80(4) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990.
Miss Marsh received a £300 FINE, £1115.27 Costs and a Victim Surcharge of £120 – totalling £1535.27.
Councillor Bob Harris, Cabinet Member for Public Health and Communities, said:
"The Council's Environmental Health Team investigates noise complaints and, when Officers have evidenced the noise constitutes a statutory nuisance, we always try to work positively with the subject of the complaint to offer advice and guidance on how to deal with the issue.
"In this case, the Council's efforts to find a solution to the problem were repeatedly ignored, leaving Officers no other option than to prosecute."
The occasional bark or 'woof' is usually not a problem for neighbours and others in the community but when barking becomes excessive, it's often considered unacceptable and can materially interfere with use of a person’s property. The dog's welfare may also be compromised, but the owner may not realise their dog has been barking if they're not around at that time.
If you're concerned about a dog barking excessively near you, there are things you can do:
- Speak to the owner. They may not be aware that there's an issue.
- If speaking to your neighbour hasn't worked or isn't an option, then you can contact the Council about the noise complaint.
The RSPCA has some key advice on how to stop your dog barking here - https://www.rspca.org.uk/adviceandwelfare/pets/dogs/behaviour/barking.
Residents can make a complaint about a noise nuisance via the Council's website -https://www.rctcbc.gov.uk/EN/Resident/EnvironmentalHealthandPollution/PollutionControl/Noisepollution.aspx.
Posted on 22/05/2025