To me this is the same as moving under Heathrow's flight path and then complaining about the noise from the planes!
Surely a cockerel crowing is all part and parcel of rural life?
It's not remotely the same.
Even if you live in the countryside there's not the presumption of nuisance from inconsiderate chicken keepers. If you live in a community with close neighbours it's not unreasonable to expect them to limit their activities to ones which don't cause a nuisance to their neighbours. No one is forcing them to keep cockerels, they choose to do so.
I might agree that if you moved next to a chicken breeding business you might reasonably expect to have disturbance from cocks crowing. This isn't the case here flump lives in a residencial built up area in a row of semis not adjacent to a pre-existing chicken farm. However even if you move close to a pre-existing chicken farm you might still have a claim of nuisance up held in court of law.
I live in the country adjacent to a farm which has cockerels which are about 80 metres away from our house and I also have cockerels too and they don't disturb us but I understand that that's not the case with everyone. If I kept chx in an urban situation with neighbours I wouldn't keep cockerels.
Crowing and the Law. Below is an extract from a typical council guideline document. If you google "crowing cocks nuisance" you can find many similar guidelines issued by local councils referenced on the web and I guess this advice has a common source as they are all very similar.
"When investigating complaints of cockerels crowing, the Service must establish whether a Statutory Noise Nuisance is occurring.
In considering whether a Statutory Noise Nuisance exists Environmental Health Officer’s will consider a number of factors including:
1. Nature of the area
Whilst cockerels have been part of the English countryside for generations it is possible that keeping them in built up residential environments may cause a Statutory Noise Nuisance.
2. Time of day
We all know that like dogs, cockerels tend to make noises at any time of the day. However the one trait of a cockerel is the early morning crow and it is more than likely that your cockerel crowing at unsociable times is likely to give rise to a Statutory Noise Nuisance.
3. Duration & Frequency
The length of time and frequency your cockerel crow has to be considered when establishing whether a Statutory Noise Nuisance is occurring. If your cockerels crow for long periods of time, or frequently, it is likely that a Statutory Noise Nuisance is occurring. "
HF