During Noise Action Week,  Fife Council lead environmental health officer Don Taylor, tells John Bynorth, Policy and Communications Officer at Environmental Protection Scotland, how the council promotes its noise service across a diverse community. The diverse nature of the communities of the Kingdom of Fife breeds a variety of noise problems.  Fife Council’s environmental health (public protection) Lead Officer, Don Taylor, and his team are inundated with complaints ranging from barking dogs to noisy nightclubs, bars, takeaway […]

Shhhh!!! Project DeStress, run by Dr Sarah Payne at Heriot-Watt University, is a research project exploring quiet urban outdoor places and their health-promoting properties. For creating healthy, sustainable societies, preserving quiet can be just as important as reducing noises Project DeStress aims to raise awareness to the public, practitioners, and stakeholders about the important value of quiet places in cities. Step one in this project is to identify where and what the public think quiet areas […]

New research shows a third of London’s parks are severely impacted by traffic noise. At the beginning of this week CPRE London (the London branch of the Campaign to Protect Rural England) published the results of a survey of traffic noise in 885 London parks. Neil Sinden and Alice Roberts of CPRE London summarise the findings. This report – “Traffic Noise in London Parks” marks the launch of a new campaign by CPRE London called Tranquil […]

That noise from transport sources affects our health is acknowledged by the World Health Organisation and the Chief Medical Officer for England. Expansion of airports and the reduction of the night time quiet period means more of us could be exposed to aircraft niose for longer.  John Gulliver, Professor of Environmental and Exposure Sciences at University of Leicester gives and overview of the impacts of transport noise and introduces new studies into the health effects […]

Noise from outdoor machinery can cause noise disturbance and annoyance – especially when its warm and windows are more likely to be opened. Construction sites and large parks and gardens frequently use machinery that is inherently noisy. We also use noisy outdoor machines at home in the garden and on building jobs. There is regulation in place to manage noise levels from 57 types of outdoor equipment, and this is overseen by the Office for […]

We’ve all been affected by annoying and unhealthy noise – from neighbours, transport, pets and even others in our own homes. Noise Action Week 2018 gives local councils, housing providers and acoustics professionals the opportunity to promote solutions to noise problems that impact on our health Noise pollution is: recognised by the Chief Medical Officer in England as second only to air pollution in damaging public health. the pollutant that has the greatest impact on […]

In recent weeks we’ve come across several stories where students living in shared houses – HMOs – are causing noise problems in communities. In  Durham  regular student parties have led to residents changing the rooms they sleep in to avoid noise. One is even reported to be sleeping in his bath in an effort to get some peace. In Brighton residents are calling for tighter regulation on houses occupied by students to reduce the blight […]

Noise problems from music venues remain a regular feature in local and national news. Live music makes a massive contribution to the cultural capital of our towns and cities and should contribute to vibrant and healthy communities. However this should not be at a cost to the health of neighbours if they suffer from regular disruption and disturbance. Changes to planning guidance are proposed that will emphasise the responsibility of developers building near an existing […]

The Department of Agriculture Environment and Rural Affairs say that activities during Noise Action Week are one of the best ways to tackle neighbour noise in Northern Ireland. They also recommend education, through the Noise Statistics Report, and the general work of district councils, to be appropriate ways of preventing noise issues. This advice is offered with publication of noise complaint statistics showing complaints in Northern Ireland rose by 13% last year. Noise Complaint Statistics […]

Reducing road transport noise is one of the environmental improvements called for in a new report published by the Campaign for Better Transport(CfBT). “Roads and the Environment” is, they say, a ‘source book of ideas for making our roads, old and new, fit more sensitively into the landscapes and ecosystems through which they pass’. The report draws on case studies, and uses examples of improvements to existing roads that could make our road network better […]