ProPG: Planning & Noise

A joint initiative from the ANC, IOA and CIEH

The ProPG has been produced to provide practitioners with guidance on a recommended approach to the management of noise within the planning system in England. The CIEH, IOA and the ANC have worked together to produce the guidance which encourages better acoustic design for new residential development and aims to protect people from the harmful effects of noise.

The guide is available in three pdf files:

ProPG: Planning & Noise – New Residential Development:

1. ‍Main Guidance
2. Supplementary Document 1: Planning and noise policy and guidance
3. Supplementary Document 2: Good Acoustic Design

Noise exposure can have a wide range of adverse impacts, from increasing the risk of heart disease to affecting children’s school performance, and while current Government planning and noise policy and guidance sets clear objectives, it does not prescribe specific numerical acoustics standards and it allows a range of different approaches to be used.

The three organisations say that if their recommendations are followed early in the planning process:

1. Good acoustic design will enable homes to be built in some areas previously considered unsuitable because of noise.
2. Noisy sites where residential development will never be suitable can be quickly identified, saving developers time and unnecessary costs.
3. Home building can be started much earlier on sites where noise is not an issue.

This Professional Practice Guidance is based on the best knowledge available at the time of publication. It does not constitute an official government code of practice and neither replaces nor provides an authoritative interpretation of the law or government policy on which users should take their own advice as appropriate.

Our Accreditation

Acoustic Associates Sussex office has the following accreditations & registrations:

• Chartered Building Consultancy with The CIOB (The Chartered Institute of Builders).
• The IOA (The Institute of Acoustics).
• The ANC (The Association of Noise Consultants) to undertake Sound Insulation Testing.
• ATTMA (The Air Tightness Testing & Measurement Association) to undertake Air Tightness Testing for both L1a (Domestic) & L2a (Non-Domestic) developments with engineers qualified in EAC’s (Envelope Area Calculations), Level 1 & Level 2 testing.
• The Institute of Diagnostic Engineers.
• Constructionline.
• CQMS Safety Scheme.
• CSCS Cards for construction site work.