The Ombudsman receives hundreds of complaints every year, especially in summer, about the noise and nuisance generated by outdoor activities: music festivals, various shows or the patron saint festivals that are held in towns, neighbourhoods and cities next to urban centres.
Through the complaints it handles, the Ombudsman reminds local councils that Law 37/2003, of 17 November, on Noise, assigns local corporations the task of preventing, monitoring and reducing noise pollution in their territory and that they must seek a balance between activities – economic, festive, cultural or recreational – and the rights of residents.
The Ombudsman recommends, among other measures, that organisers be required to use sound limiters on loudspeakers and public address systems, as well as to set reasonable and reduced opening hours when events and performances are held in public places using amplified music.
The institution also calls on local councils to carry out the necessary acoustic measurements and controls and, in the event of emissions exceeding the established maximum values, to adopt the necessary measures to ensure that they comply with the regulations, including, where appropriate, the application of penalties which should be dissuasive.
The Ombudsman also reminds citizens that they can and should demand that local councils carry out acoustic measurements when they feel that they are being affected by a nuisance activity, and urges them to complain to the Ombudsman if they feel that the administrations are not adequately protecting their rights.
