MORE than 450 noise complaints were reported in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole area last month, around 17 per cent of which were against student houses.

From September 1 to October 1, 2021, BCP Council received a total of 458 noise complaints for reasons such as loud music, noisy pubs and barking dogs.

A total of 321 of these were new complaints and the remaining 137 were repeat.

Meanwhile, 76 of the total complaints were made against those in student accommodation primarily in the Bournemouth area. Student houses refers to houses of multiple occupancy in which the occupants are full time students attending university, shared student halls of residences or privately rented student homes.

A BCP Council spokesperson said: “The council’s Environmental Protection Team work closely with partners at the police and both local universities and seek to engage and inform people new to the area of their responsibilities in the community while studying at one of our universities.

“Regular communications are delivered by the relevant student union teams and student wardens are employed each year to help deliver advice on being a good neighbour, as well as other issues such as bin collection days or problems with rented housing.

“Noisy parties can quickly escalate and the council’s out of hours service has responded to reports across Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole at the time, including areas of high student housing, and necessary action, either through engagement or enforcement under the Environmental Protection Act has been taken where required.

“Police colleagues often follow up these visits to ensure the message is understood and help to prevent repeat nuisances which can lead to prosecution, fines and a criminal record. We advise all residents in the council’s area to consider what impact a gathering or party may have on their neighbours.

“Anyone affected by significant noise disturbance outside of normal working hours can contact the Council on 0800 0281870. Officers are on duty regularly until the early hours of the morning and will seek to visit all reports when available.”