Musician served abatement notice for ‘practicing at home’

A London-based musician has launched a petition to protect the rights of musicians to practice instruments in their home after being served a noise abatement notice.

Fiona Fey, a multi-instrumentalist and songwriter, said she was served a noise abatement notice by Lewisham Council that forbids her from playing any musical instrument in her home at any time.

She said that if she breaches the notice Lewisham Council can force entry, confiscate all her instruments and issue a £2,000 fine.

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"I am a musician, it is my job to practise," Fey said.

"The hours I was practising were usually between 11am and 3pm – not early morning or late at night, the instruments I was practising regularly were guitar, singing and low whistle (70-80 decibels – the volume of a conversation).

"The Environmental Health Officers told me TV and radio are 'living noise' but that the playing of an instrument is not.  

"Why on earth isn't the playing of musical instruments considered living noise?

"It is not only people who make their living from music, it is so important to protect this as simply a form of enjoyment, self expression and relaxation and it should not need any further justification."

Fey's petition has received more than 19,000 signatures so far.

'Numerous complaints'

In a statement released to classical music website Slipped Disc, Lewisham Council said it had been made aware of "loud music, playing of instruments and singing" in November 2022, adding that there have been "numerous complaints".

"We celebrate the musicality and creativity of our borough and recognise people’s right to play an instrument in their home. We only intervene when we receive complaints and always try to resolve these amicably, which is balanced and can include mediation," the statement said.

"Lewisham Homes spoke with the leaseholder in January 2023 and was advised that we would continue to monitor the situation. 

"As a result of the noise complaints, a referral for mediation was made in mid-January 2023. After mediation, the tenant refused to agree to a good neighbour agreement or rehearsal times to prevent further concerns. 

"Lewisham Homes instructed a professional witness who attended the complainant’s home in February 2023, the report from this professional witness confirmed that the music from the residence was audible within the complainant’s home and was at an unreasonable level.

"Lewisham Homes and Lewisham Council do not make decisions like this lightly and have tried to avoid enforcement, which is only ever done as a last resort. 

"In this case, regrettably, when we tried to explore reasonable offers and solutions to find a balance, the tenant refused to engage and we received multiple further complaints."

In response, Fey described Lewisham Council's statement as "absolutely untrue".

"There's a video on YouTube that proves that's not the case and the muliple complaints were from one person," she said. 

"The neighbours on the otherside kindly issued me with an email to say that noise issues were not a problem at any point."