Dozens of residents in Upper Hutt say their lives have been ruined by noise from a nearby factory.
Night-time operations were stepped up by manufacturer Farrah's some 18 months ago. People living close by say it's left them stressed and unable to sleep.
"It's like water torture," says Craig Riley.
He found it had such an impact on his health that he had to change jobs. Neighbour Sherilyn Quesnel and her husband also suffer saying "the lack of sleep can leave you quite emotional, a little bit depressed even".
Others have moved out of their homes for weeks at a time, and one resident was taken to hospital for a heart condition that she put down to the stress of no sleep.
Noise expert David Welch from the University of Auckland says continuous noise pollution can cause cardiovascular problems as well as having an effect on the immune system and mental health.
It's not as if the residents haven't tried their own solutions. From ear plugs, to apps for the sound of natural rain, and even moving rooms. But there's been no respite, "it's like a cessna hovering over our house" explains another resident Viv Tatham.
With no effective home remedy, residents tried talking to Farrah's, but say the company has refused to directly engage. They have also collectively made over 200 complaints to Upper Hutt City Council.
The complaints began last year. The council carried out testing which found the noise levels set out in the district plan had been breached. It then issued an abatement notice to Farrah's.
However, this only asked Farrah's to carry out it's own testing. The council says delays were caused as the initial report was unsatisfactory, but a second assessment by acoustic engineers confirmed the factory noise did breach acceptable levels.
Residents felt that Upper Hutt City Council should have done more to get the noise to stop. They feel 18 months without a good night's sleep is unacceptable.
"It's left me feeling as if I have no control and am completely helpless, and it's annoying that we have to go through this process, it's like we're fighting the war and it's not our job to do that," Helen Chapman says.
Residents laid a complaint with the Local Government Ombudsman to that effect. But an assessment concluded that the council had not acted unreasonably.
The council's explanation was that a more heavy-handed approach would have resulted in longer delays due to the possibility of Farrah's taking legal action.
Fair Go asked Farrah's about it's lack of engagement with residents and why it had previously said there were "no practical options" to fix the noise problem.
But none of these questions was answered.
Instead, Farrah's provided a statement to say it was sorry and that it had already reduced or eliminated some sources of noise. It also pointed out the factory was on industrial-zone land.
The issues relating to the noise were all aired in a resource consent hearing earlier this month.
Farrah's was applying to extend it's operations by erecting a second silo. It was also asking to be able to continue low level noise at night until the noise problem was permanently solved by the arrival of specialist equipment.
Several of the dozens of complainants gave testimony to the profound impact the noises has had on their health, and begged for an end to the night-time noise now.
However, the council submitted in favour of Farrah's expansion and for low level noise at night to continue despite it still breaching acceptable levels on the basis that permanent measures are installed to achieve compliance with the District Plan, both for daytime and night time limits by April 2022 and that temporary measures are implemented to reduce noise non-compliances prior to Christmas 2021.
It's finally a sign of progress but some residents are still in disbelief that it could be another six months of noise levels being breached to some extents. They feel they have suffered enough, and question why operations can’t stop until the permanent solution is in place.
The Commissioner says a decision will be made by early December.
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