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Noise Survey and Sound Thinking Report
Providing essential insight into the public health impacts of noise across England and Wales.
CIEH Sound Thinking Policy Report
Following the publication of the CIEH Data Briefing in March 2026, CIEH has published a major new report, Sound Thinking, warning that noise pollution remains a significant but often overlooked threat to public health and wellbeing, with nearly a quarter of people saying they are regularly disturbed by noise and many believing the problem is getting worse.
The report combines analysis of local authority noise complaint data with new Ipsos polling of more than 2,100 adults aged 16-75 in England and Wales. It highlights the health impacts of environmental noise, identifies emerging sources of noise nuisance and sets out a series of policy recommendations aimed at improving how noise complaints are recorded, monitored and addressed.
According to the Ipsos research commissioned by CIEH:
- 23% of respondents (adults aged 16-75 in England and Wales) said they had been disturbed by noise very or fairly often over the past two years.
- 29% said that noise levels where they live had increased during that period.
- Lower-income households are disproportionately affected, with 29% of people earning under £20,000 reporting regular disturbance from noise (selecting “very” or “fairly” often), compared with 19% of those earning £55,000 or more.
- 57% of respondents had experienced some form of neighbour or neighbourhood noise, including noise from animals, neighbours and social gatherings.
- 56% had experienced at least one form of transport-related noise, including road, rail and aircraft noise.
- The most-selected noise disturbances were noise from animals such as barking dogs (38%), road traffic (36%), neighbours in a different building (36%), parties or social gatherings (30%) and emergency vehicle sirens (28%).
CIEH believes there is strong public support for making noise complaints easier to report and track. The survey asked respondents what, if anything, would make the reporting process easier for them if they wanted to report noise to their local council. Nearly one-third (32%) of respondents selected "ability to report the noise online" from the options presented, 28% would want "greater confidence that councils would take action". Overall, 59% of adults aged 16-75 surveyed selected answers relating to improving the flexibility and accessibility of reporting systems.
Among the report's key recommendations are calls for:
- Nationally consistent coding categories for noise complaints across England and Wales.
- A mechanism for councils to record and monitor emerging sources of noise as they develop.
- Guidance for councils undergoing Local Government Reorganisation to ensure consistent reporting systems.
- Future national noise reduction plans to include targets for reducing complaints from specific noise sources.
- A review of resources available to environmental health services dealing with noise and nuisance complaints.
- Renewed action on recommendations made by the House of Lords' 2023 report on neglected pollutants.
- Research into whether differing levels of environmental health provision are creating inequalities in service outcomes.
- Consideration of noise as an ‘Environmental Factor’ under the new Health Inequalities Duty introduced through the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Act 2026.
- Wider adoption of digital reporting tools and mobile applications to improve access to noise complaint services and help councils respond more efficiently.
The report concludes that reducing noise harm will require action on prevention, planning, public health and environmental health, supported by better data and stronger national coordination.
Stakeholder responses to Sound Thinking:
"The Institute of Acoustics welcomes CIEH’s call for a more consistent approach to the reporting of noise complaint data, recognising that better data, as well as technical expertise and properly resourced environmental health services are essential for the effective management of noise and protecting public health and wellbeing in the longer term from what has been recognised to be a neglected pollutant."
Paul Shields, President of the Institute of Acoustics (IoA)
"The Noise Abatement Society welcomes the new CIEH report "Sound Thinking" which recognises a priority need for better reporting, data collection and understanding around the real-life effects of intrusive noise on communities."
Gloria Elliott OBE, Chief Executive, Noise Abatement Society
Noise Complaint Data Briefing 2026
The Noise Complaint Data Briefing 2026 provides the most up-to-date national overview of noise complaints received between 1 October 2024 and 30 September 2025. It is the first dataset of its kind published by CIEH since 2020/2021 and includes several new categories of noise sources, reflecting the changing nature of the built environment and public health needs.
Key findings at a glance
- More than 305,000 noise complaints were recorded across England and Wales - around 850 complaints per day and a drop since 2021, which covered the period of the three COVID-19 lockdowns.
- There was a stark drop in the amount of enforcement action undertaken by Environmental Health Officers (EHOs), with only 2,282 abatement notices issued during the reporting period - a 72% decrease over 20 years.
- Just 190 prosecutions were lodged - a 71% drop compared with the equivalent period two decades ago.
- There were 103 complaints about air source heat pumps (ASHPs), with the highest number in the South West.
- There were 326 complaints about noise from holiday lets (e.g., Airbnbs).
About the 2026 Noise Complaint Data Briefing
The Noise Complaint Data Briefing 2026 is based on data collected from local authorities between October 2025 and February 2026, covering complaints received from 1 October 2024 to 30 September 2025. With a 92% response rate, it is one of the most representative noise datasets CIEH has produced in recent years.
For the first time, the survey includes complaints about emerging noise sources such as ASHPs and short-term holiday lets.
Last year, fewer than 48% of local authorities responded to the voluntary noise survey, limiting the dataset's usefulness and affecting indicators in the Public Health Outcomes Framework. To improve the quality and consistency of national noise data, CIEH has consulted with UKHSA, DEFRA and other partners, refined the question set with input from Advisory Panels, included new noise sources and moved from a voluntary survey to a consistent FOI-based approach.
CIEH will continue to explore the implications of this year’s findings throughout spring 2026.
Why is the noise survey so important?
Our noise survey provides the only source of regular national information on the important contribution made by EHPs working to resolve noise complaints.
The survey was referenced in the 2017 Chief Medical Officer annual report, which emphasised that "environmental noise comes second in burden of disease to air pollution and arguably is responsible for more disturbance of quality of life". Noise is the single largest issue of complaint made to local authorities in the UK, and over 80% of people report being exposed to noise pollution in their homes.
Past survey results
The 2020/21 England Noise Survey report was published in March 2022.
Key findings:
- A total of 356,367 noise complaints were recorded by 144 local authorities, on average 149 complaints for every 10,000 people
- 11,211 formal actions were taken by responding local authorities
- There were 88 noise-related prosecutions
- The average number of complaints per Full Time Equivalent Professional increased from 299 to 633
- There are 563 FTEs working at 144 local authorities to investigate and resolve noise complaints, on average 3.9 FTE per local authority
England
The report covers:
- The total number of noise complaints received
- The total number of notices served
- Other formal actions taken by local authorities
- Staffing levels for noise-related work
- The number of prosecutions
- Breakdowns of noise complaints by sector
- Breakdowns of data by region
Wales
Responses to the survey were received from all local authorities in Wales.
Key findings:
- Noise complaints 10% up on previous year ranging from 10 per 10,000 population in Anglesey to 177 per 10,000 population in Swansea
- 323 notices served (by 20 local authorities) under the Environmental Protection Act to deal with noise amounting to a statutory nuisance
- Formal action taken under other legislation to deal with noise in 22 cases (by five local authorities)
- Five simple cautions issued
- There were 34 noise-related prosecutions (eight local authorities)
- All but two local authorities reported that they were using the Noise App
- All but one local authority were using Matron monitoring equipment to assist with noise investigations
- Eleven out of 22 local authorities have arrangements in place to respond to noise complaints out of office hours
England
We collected data from 143 local authorities in England.
The report covers the same areas as the new 2019/20 report excluding other formal actions taken by Local Authorities.
Wales
All 22 local authorities in Wales responded to the survey, which is a response rate of 100%.
In total 18,567 noise complaints were recorded, which works out as 59 complaints for every 10,000 members of population. Noise from residential premises accounts for the largest proportion of noise complaints, while industrial noise accounts for the lowest proportion of noise complaints compared to other sectors.
