Entertainment noise is unwanted sound "at the wrong time and in the wrong place" and can be more annoying than other noises because it is impulsive rather than steady. It is a major stress factor that can harm people's health.
Since last year, people have been able to report noise nuisance to the police, and entertainment venues can be fined up to EUR 5,000 for noise nuisance, but this often does not change the situation and does not deter entertainment venues from continuing to make noise, Rūta Siliņa, spokesperson for the Ombudsman's Office, said on LTV's "Morning Panorama".
The Ombudsman would like to see the state clean up the regulation to take into account the interests of both entertainment venues and residents, Siliņa explained.
"We are in favor of a balance, but at the moment there is no such balance," said Raimonds Koņusevskis, deputy head of the Social, Economic and Cultural Rights Department of the Ombudsman's Office.
Siliņa said that the Ombudsman's Office does not advocate silence and sound mute, it is clear that entertainment venues should exist, but entertainment venues should take into account the interests of people living nearby. She added that there are different possible solutions, for example, when entertainment venues are built, they put in silencers, they look for other solutions with acoustic experts so that the sound does not go to the neighboring houses.
Koņusevskis said that experience from abroad shows that municipalities play an important role in regulating entertainment noise, as they can set the opening hours of entertainment venues.
Currently, a working group has been set up at the national level to find a solution to balance the interests of entertainment venues and residents' night-time accommodation, but this is slow.
That is why the Ombudsman also decided to call on the Government, while it is looking for an ideal solution, to adopt at least some temporary regulation by December 1 so that people can both party and sleep, separately or together.
"The work is stuck, it is not going forward because the problem has been going on for decades, punishment is only a partial motivational measure," said Konusevskis.