Question

The graph below shows the number of complaints made about noise to Environmental Health authorities in the city of Newtown between 2000 and 2016. Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

Model Answer

The graph illustrates the types of noise complaint received by the authorities in Newtown over a sixteen year period. Despite an initial downward trend, there was an overall rise in complaints. This was largely driven by skyrocketing complaints in the domestic sector post 2008.

The first half of the period until 2008 saw a downturn in the number of noise complaints. The largest fall was in relation to roadworks, which fell from around 600 a year to just over 200. The exception was complaints about factories. These rose by more than a half to around 700 annually.

However, the situation changed after 2008 as complaints increased. This was due to a sharp increase in complaints related to traffic noise and private households, especially the latter which saw a three fold increase from 400 to 1200. Rising complaints in these areas negated progress elsewhere. Complaints related to roadworks continued to fall, finishing the period at around a 100 reports per year. Meanwhile complaints about factories remained relatively stable from 2008 onwards.

(170 words)