Local Requirements

Noise Impact Assessment

Required where:

  1. The new development is classed as a "noise sensitive land use", e.g. residential, hospitals, schools and care homes and is close to busy roads, railways, airfields or industrial sources of noise.
  2. The new development has the potential to introduce noise or vibration to an existing sensitive use either long term or during development. Examples include:
    1. general industrial
    2. waste management
    3. minerals extraction
    4. warehousing
    5. leisure centres
    6. where the proposal will include night working
    7. noisy plant or extraction systems
    8. commercial kitchens
  3. Wind turbines (Note: this will be determined on a site-by-site basis).

Guidance

All planning and reserved matter applications that raise issues of disturbance or are considered to be a noise-sensitive development will need to be supported by a Noise Impact Assessment. This must be undertaken by a suitably competent and qualified acoustician. It must include:

  1. baseline monitoring,
  2. predictions (supported by source data),
  3. full details and specification of mitigation and
  4. an assessment of the potential impact on residential receptors in accordance with current standards.

Where appropriate the assessment shall be carried out in accordance with current British Standards, for example BS4142:2014, BS8233:2014, and BS5228:1997.

The aim of an assessment is to identify measures which will eliminate or minimise potential noise impacts. This can be achieved by design, orientation and mitigation rather than by recommending a reliance on planning conditions.  Reference must be made to current national standards and planning guidance in order to achieve acceptable noise climates within living and amenity spaces.

Where noise is likely to be an issue, applicants are advised to contact the Council's Environmental Health team prior to the submission of a planning application.

Useful Publications

Noise Impact Assessments must have regard to the following guidance where applicable to the development:

  • BS8233 Sound insulation and noise reduction for buildings code of practice
  • BS5228-1:2009 Code of practice for noise and vibration control on construction and open sites
  • BS4142: Method for rating industrial noise affecting mixed residential and industrial areas
  • ETSU-R-97 1996 The Assessment and Rating of Noise from Wind Farms; Institute of Acoustics Guidance