Noise is unwanted sound. Environmental noise is an inevitable by-product of day-to- day activities in the places we live and work.
How loud, what causes it and how often particular noises are heard, will vary enormously from place to place. These can be anonymous noise sources such as transport noise or be attributable to a specific source from a specific place.
While some noises are welcome and are an important part of everyday life, there are times when it will be considered intrusive or excessive. In these situations, it can have an adverse effect on people’s quality of life if it is not properly controlled.
Chronic exposure to environmental noise significantly affects physical and mental health and well-being. It can lead to annoyance, stress reactions, sleep disturbance and cognitive impairment in children. It can also have negative effects on the cardiovascular and metabolic systems.
The most effective aspect of noise management is that which makes sure new developments are sited and designed in such a manner as to minimise the impact of noise that their introduction may cause, or the existing noise that they may be exposed to.
Many potential noise problems can be resolved through the careful design of both noise-creating and noise sensitive premises.
Where noise is a potential issue, a noise impact assessment should be submitted at the application stage. It is good practice to explore noise constraints early in the design process to make sure all noise concerns are addressed and mitigation is central to the design.
The requirement for a noise impact assessment arises in 3 common scenarios:
- The proposed development may be noise-sensitive. For example, residential areas, care homes, schools, or hospitals. These developments can be impacted by existing noise sources, such as industries, commercial buildings, fixed mechanical plant, road traffic, railways or industrial sites.
- The proposed development might generate noise which may affect existing nearby noise sensitive receptors. For example, a new industrial use, entertainment premises, air handling plant.
- New transport infrastructure near existing residential development.