What a week.

Another issue with noise. My client - a local club, established 115 years has a large beer garden and plays music outside, the problem is the neighbour in a separate building possibly 5 metres away is constantly recording the noise levels in all areas f the garden possibly just on a phone and reporting the club to the local EHO.

The music does not play after 20.00 hours. The neighbour even complains if people walk past her cottage. EHO says shut doors and close curtains and no outdoor music. The club even get complaints as the door opens for people to go home in the evening. Do the noise exposure levels regulations not apply in this case, as the neighbour is damaging trade.

SBH

The noise at work regulations only apply to people at work, funnily enough, and as your client is actively reducing noise levels and exposure that's arguably a good thing for employee's ears. After all, they're not a target - they're a limit beyond which extra actions are required.

Regardless, as highlighted, local EHO will be looking at nuisance. It's not quite as prescriptive as hinted at and is largely built upon case law decisions over the years. Noise readings may be part of the picture but functionally its about whether there is an actual impact at the neighbours property. I've certainly taken prosecutions in the past based on just witness statements concering subjective volume and nature of noise from a pub (somewhat more extreme examples than your own though!). A non-exclusive example of a test might be 'do they have to turn up the television in order to hear it over someone else's noise?'.

A certain degree of proportionality is usually employed by enforcement agencies as is the case in HASWA.