11
2014
Preventing anti social and unhealthy noise
Noise Action Week 19th - 20th May 2014
The focus for Noise Action Week 2014 is noise and health and, following positive feedback from last years’ participants, Environmental Protection UK (EPUK) are encouraging all professionals concerned with reducing the impact of noise on health to take part. EPUK co-ordinate Noise Action Week - and Environmental Protection Scotland will be supporting activity to raise awareness of noise too.
For local authority noise teams, social housing providers, acousticians and other professionals concerned with managing the impacts of noise, the week provides a focus for raising awareness of noise issues, solutions and services. Last year participant activities ranged from working with media students to make an advisory film to hosting barbeques and tea tents to offer advice on noise problems to local people.
A survey published recently by housing think tank Hact1 reinforced the importance of reducing noise in the home, finding that noise has a greater impact on people’s happiness than vandalism or condensation. A recent report on environmental groups2 found only 0.6% of their resource goes to tackling the local issues like noise, air and water pollution which together make up the majority of complaints about our environment.
NAW is a great opportunity for proactive work on noise reduction. EPUK committee Vice Chair Gareth Hooper, of Gloucester CC, ponders in his blog on the NAW website3 whether EHOs should play a greater role in noise prevention. EPUK will be providing an information hub through their Twitter account and website, and working with partners to raise awareness of the need to reduce the impact of noise on health and well being. We are posting a regular blog on our website with guest posts from noise specialists - including Noise Tsar Val Weedon, and mediation specialists. Coming up we have author and broadcaster of Noise, A Human History, Professor David Hendy and Mike Goldsmith, author of Discord: The Story of Noise.
EPUK would love to provide resources to support noise awareness raising work, but have insufficient funding to do this at this point. We are inviting anyone who would like to contribute funds to get in touch. Also, if there is an issue you would like to sound off about - Noise Action Week are inviting noise specialists to contribute posts to our blog.
More: Mary Stevens, NAW co-ordinator - [email protected]
Twitter: @NoiseActionWeek
http://www.environmental-protection.org.uk/ http://www.ep-scotland.org.uk/policy-focus/noise/
1. http://www.theguardian.com/housing-network/2013/dec/10/housing-problems-happiness-space-noise-research
2. http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/nov/27/1-in-10-uk-adults-environmental-group
“Only £5.7m or 0.6% of the total spend by the groups went towards air, noise and water pollution, even though the evidence suggests this is costing Britain more than £10bn a year in healthcare costs, and together receive more complaints than anything else.”
3. http://www.noiseactionweek.org.uk/proposed-new-asbo-laws-concern-noise-professionals#respond
ENDS
