Council takes Roehampton woman to court for late night noise

A Roehampton woman who subjected her neighbours to a weekend of late night noise disturbance has been taken to court by the council and fined more than £4,000.

Shannon Powell who lives in Frensham Drive staged two very noisy parties over one weekend in March. Council noise patrollers were first contacted about the disturbance at 2.40am on March 12. An officer arrived at the location at 3am and heard very loud music being played at the address.

He was eventually able to speak to an occupant of the flat, believed to be Ms Powell, through an open window, and asked her to turn the music down.

At 3.45am further complaints were received and the patroller returned to the address and found that the music had been turned up. He could also hear lots of shouting and screaming coming from inside the property.

In the early hours of the following morning, March 13 at 3.55am, fresh complaints were received about a second night of disturbance.

The patroller attended just after 4am and said in his witness statement that the noise could be heard 30 metres away. He said he could hear loud music along with “loud voices, screaming, shouting and laughing”.

As a result the 25–year-old was prosecuted for causing unreasonable noise nuisance to her neighbours.

The case was heard in her absence at Lavender Hill Magistrates Court on August 23 after she failed to attend. She was convicted of two noise nuisance offences and ordered to pay a total of £4,176 in fines and legal costs.

Housing spokesman Cllr Paul Ellis said: “This is a hefty fine imposed by the court which obviously felt that Ms Powell’s complete and utter disregard for her neighbours warranted such a heavy penalty.

“This case should act as a warning to anyone who thinks they can cause such problems with impunity. If you choose to behave in a wholly selfish and unreasonable manner and inflict this kind of late night disturbance on those living around you then the courts have signalled that this kind of tough sentence may await you.”

Anyone suffering noise nuisance on a Wandsworth housing estate should call the council's 24 hour emergency response team on (020) 8871 7486. For other properties, including commercial properties, call (020) 8871 6170 during normal office hours or the noise patrol on (020) 8871 7869 at all other times.

September 3, 2016