Residents in Leith Walk area reported most noise complaints in Edinburgh during coronavirus lockdown as over 2,000 grievances raised in 3 years across city

More than 2,000 noise complaints have been made to Edinburgh City Council in the past three years, with the vast majority about loud music and noise from inside people's homes.

Busking, commercial noise, car alarms and loud motorbikes also feature in the list of grievances raised by residents across the city – but these types of complaints are rare.

The figures, obtained from Edinburgh City Council under freedom of information laws, cover the period between April 2017 and July 2020 and show that, of the total 2,318 complaints, 1,190 were down to 'domestic noise' while 916 were linked to loud music where the noise was 'internal.'

Edinburgh areas with most complaints

More than 2,000 noise complaints were made by residents across Edinburgh over the past three years. Pic: Marek Masik/Shutterstock

The statistics revealed people living in the city's Forth ward recorded the most noise complaints - 223 - over the three-year period. This part of the Capital covers areas like Pilton, Granton and Trinity.

The Liberton and Gilmerton ward was the second highest with 190 complaints, closely followed by the densely populated Leith Walk area with 186.

Residents in the Leith Walk area reported the most noise issues during the lockdown period with 46 complaints between April and July, with the Forth ward recording the second highest number with 30.

And there were 76 noise complaints made in the Leith Walk area last year - the highest of all wards for 2019-20.

Residents in the Corstorphine and Murrayfield ward made the fewest noise complaints overall with just 37 in three years.

There were no obvious patterns through lockdown in terms of a rise in noise complaints across Edinburgh. However, a total of 80 noise complaints were recorded in June which has been the highest monthly figure over the past three years.

An Edinburgh City Council spokesperson said: “When we receive a complaint, we investigate and measure the noise being experienced against appropriate criteria.

"Where we establish the noise is a statutory nuisance, we try to resolve the issue informally in the first instance and only take further action where required.”

Specific reasons for why some parts of Edinburgh might have more noise complaints than others are not clear but more densely populated areas with more flats can be a significant factor.

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