Statistics reported by district councils across Northern Ireland about noise complaints were collated into a DAERA report
The ‘Noise Complaint Statistics 2024/25′ report was published this week by the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA). It shows Belfast City Council was the authority that had the most noise complaints made, accounting for 47.78% of the total number recorded throughout Northern Ireland in 2024/25.
The department said the purpose of releasing these findings was to inform central government, district councils, the general public and any other interested parties as to the number and nature of noise complaints. The report pertains to complaints collected between 1st April 2024 and 31st March 2025 by district councils across Northern Ireland. It analysed several key pieces of data and presented a number of findings.
It drew on figures collated by district councils which showed a total of 9,716 complaints were received during the 2024/25 year. These findings saw complaints down by 9% compared to the previous year’s figure which saw 10,684 grievances aired through official channels. Nine out of the 11 councils disclosed a decrease in complaints on the previous year and the total number of reports was recorded as the lowest since 2004.
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Belfast City Council had a total of 4,644 noise complaints made from its 352,400 residents which meant that in the most current report, 13.18 reports were made per 1,000 members of the public who lived in its area.
The council with the next highest average of complaints per 1,000 residents was Antrim & Newtownabbey Borough Council who saw 738 noise related reports made for a population of 148,100 people. This meant that there were 4.98 complaints for 1,000 residents in the Antrim and Newtownabbey council area.
The main incidents regarding noise for residents in the Belfast City Council region was music, television and parties which saw 1,721 complaints reported. Other neighbour noise (755) and animal noise (594) were the next most prevalent reasons for noise complaints for Belfast inhabitants.
There were no noise complaints for the reported period anywhere in Northern Ireland for either civil or military aircraft. Seven complaints were made for Ice Cream van chimes during this time within the region, which was down from ten complaints in the last report.
An excerpt from the report reads: “The report shows that neighbourhood noise problems can arise from many quarters. The lack of consideration for the rights of others is a contributory factor in many cases. DAERA considers that increasing education is one way of tackling the problem and is keen for the councils to continue their efforts to raise noise issues on local agendas.”
The councils with the least number of noise complaints in the region were Fermanagh & Omagh (251), Newry, Mourne & Down (357) and Mid-Ulster (375).
Belfast was also the most proactive council when it came to issuing notices to address noise complaints. Belfast City Council issued 133 notices in this period, while the total amount of notices issued during the same time in Northern Ireland was 153.
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