Report a light nuisance problem
You can report a light problem to us if an artificial light is having a significant impact on you and your family.
If you need to report an issue with street lights, you should report it to Essex County Council.
We investigate light from:
- domestic security lights
- commercial security lights
- car park floodlighting
- advertising or sign lighting
- building or landscape lighting
We do not investigate light from:
- streetlights
- railways
- prisons
- bus stations
- defence premises
You can report a light problem to us if an artificial light is having a significant impact on you and your family.
Before you report a light problem to us, you should try to speak to the person responsible for the light.
You can find out about resolving neighbour disputes on GOV.UK.
If you can’t solve the problem by speaking to the person responsible, you can report it to us.
To report a light problem, you will need to tell us:
- your name, address and contact details
- what the light is
- where you think the light is coming from
- how long the light is on for
- how often the light is on
- the time the light is usually on
- how the light is affecting you and your family
Once we receive your complaint, we will:
- acknowledge your complaint within three working days
- investigate your complaint and decide if the light is causing a statutory nuisance
- inform you of our decision. As all complaints have their own complexities, we will keep you up to date with our investigations as they progress.
We will keep your details confidential, but in some cases, it may be obvious who has made the complaint.
We will send a letter to you and to the person responsible for the light.
The letter to the person responsible for the light will inform them of the alleged nuisance, and ask them to stop.
The letter to you will include light log sheets.
If the light continues after we have written to the person responsible, you will need to keep the log for 14 days.
The log includes:
- what the light is
- the date of the light
- the time the light went on
- the time the light went off
- where in your property the light affects you
We will use the information on your log to:
- help us to determine that the light is a statutory nuisance
- help us identify the best time to visit to witness the light
If the light is a statutory nuisance, we will serve an abatement notice. The notice means that the person responsible for the light must stop the nuisance.
If the person responsible for the light does not stop, we will begin legal proceedings. We will notify you if we take legal proceedings, as we may have to reveal your identity.
You can find more information about light nuisance on GOV.UK.