Monitoring Environmental Noise for Planning

What do the government policies & regulations say about environmental noise control and the planning process?

Noise is a deciding factor in many planning applications.

N.B. What follows is a bit lengthy for a web-page however you might find it helpful.

The introduction of the National Planning Policy Framework in March 2012 has completely changed the noise and planning landscape in England. Planning Policy Guidance 24 Planning and Noise (PPG 24) has been superseded by the Noise Policy Statement for England (NPSE) which replaces the old Noise Exposure Category system of rating sites for A (not noisy) to D (too noisy for residential use) with a vision to “Promote good health and quality of life through the effective management of noise within the context of Government policy on sustainable development.”

This vision should be achieved through the following Noise Policy Aims:

[blockquote]”Through the effective management and control of environmental, neighbour and neighbourhood noise within the context of Government policy on sustainable development: avoid significant adverse impacts on health and quality of life; mitigate and minimise adverse impacts on health and quality of life; and where possible, contribute to the improvement of health and quality of life”.[/blockquote]To achieve these objectives the Noise Policy Statement sets out three noise levels to be defined by the assessor:

• NOEL – No Observed Effect Level . This is the level below which no effect can be detected. In simple terms, below this level there is no detectable effect on health and quality of life due to the noise.
• LOAEL – Lowest Observed Adverse Effect Level . This is the level above which adverse effects on health and quality of life can be detected.
• SOAEL – Significant Observed Adverse Effect Level . This is the level above which significant adverse effects on health and quality of life occur.

The Noise Policy Statement considers that noise levels above the SOAEL would be seen to have, by definition, significant adverse effects and would be considered unacceptable. Where the assessed noise levels fall between the LOAEL and the SOAEL noise levels, the Policy Statement requires that:

“all reasonable steps should be taken to mitigate and minimise adverse effects on health and quality of life while also taking into account the guiding principles of sustainable development… .. This does not mean that such adverse effects cannot occur.”