Noise control
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Other statutory controls
23. Additional statutory powers to control noise exist outside the planning
system. The granting of planning permission does not remove the need to
comply with these controls. The major legislative instruments are: (i) Part
III of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, as amended by the Noise and
Statutory Nuisance Act 1993, which requires local authorities to serve abatement
notices where the noise emitted from any premises, or from vehicles, machinery
and equipment in the street, constitutes a statutory nuisance; and (ii)
Part III of the Control of Pollution Act 1974, which gives local authorities
powers to control noise from construction sites, and also introduced the
concept of the Noise Abatement Zone (NAZ). Implementation of this legislation
usually falls to the Environmental Health Department of a local authority.
24. Other means of tackling noise include: (i) the Noise at Work Regulations 1989, which are enforced by inspectors of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE); (ii) the Building Regulations 1991, which impose standards for sound insulation between dwellings (see paragraph 25); and (iii) the Civil Aviation Act 1982, which provides for noise mitigation measures at designated aerodromes. Codes of Practice giving guidance on how to reduce or minimise noise from various activities have been produced, some of which have been approved as statutory codes under the Control of Pollution Act 1974. Certain noise producing appliances are subject to product standard controls.
25. The bodies and authorities responsible for offering advice or for implementing these controls will often have expertise or experience which planning authorities may find helpful in assessing proposals for development. For example, in the case of proposals for noisy indoor or outdoor sports developments, authorities should liase with the regional office of the Sports Council and with the governing body for the sport, who may be able to advise on ways of minimising the disturbance. In the case of landfill waste disposal sites, much of the advice contained in MPG11 "The Control of Noise at Surface Mineral Workings" will be relevant, but waste regulation authorities should in any case be consulted at an early stage to discuss the need for specific noise controls. Where development is proposed near an aerodrome, liaison with the aerodrome management will be essential.
26. In some cases it will be particularly important for local planning authorities to liaise with the relevant body because some part of the activity for which planning permission has been sought may be subject to another more appropriate means of control or licensing condition. The planning permission should not seek to duplicate such controls or conditions. For example, the Government considers that the Building Regulations are the most appropriate means of control for sound insulation between dwellings and local planning authorities should not therefore use planning conditions to control sound insulation in such cases.
Cancellation of advice
27. The following advice is hereby cancelled insofar as it relates to England:
- DOE Circular 10/73 - model planning conditions 5 - 10 in Appendix A to
DOE Circular 1/85. Glossary Below are explanations of terms as they are
used in the PPG; they are not definitions. Aerodrome: any area of land,
water, or space on the roof of a building, which is commonly used to provide
facilities for the landing and departure of aircraft - including types capable
of descending or climbing vertically. The term is generic and embraces other
terms such as airport, airfield and heliport. For a formal definition see
the Civil Aviation Act 1982. Decibel (dB): a unit of level derived from
the logarithm of the ratio between the value of a quantity and a reference
value. It is used to describe the level of many different quantities. For
sound pressure level the reference quantity is 20 Pa, the threshold of normal
hearing is in the region of 0 dB, and 140 dB is the threshold of pain.
A change of 1 dB is only perceptible under controlled conditions. dB(A):
decibels measured on a sound level meter incorporating a frequency weighting
(A weighting) which differentiates between sounds of different frequency
(pitch) in a similar way to the human ear. Measurements in dB(A) broadly
agree with people's assessment of loudness. A change of 3 dB(A) is the minimum
perceptible under normal conditions, and a change of 10 dB(A) corresponds
roughly to halving or doubling the loudness of a sound. The background noise
level in a living room may be about 30 dB(A); normal conversation about
60 dB(A) at 1 metre; heavy road traffic about 80 dB(A) at 10 metres; the
level near a pneumatic drill about 100 dB(A). Hertz (Hz): unit of frequency,
equal to one cycle per second. Frequency is related to the pitch of a sound.
LA10,T : the A weighted level of noise exceeded for 10% of the specified
measurement period (T).
It gives an indication of the upper limit of fluctuating noise such as that
from road traffic. LA10,18h is the arithmetic average of the 18 hourly LA10,1h
values from 06.00 to 24.00. LA90,T : the A weighted noise level exceeded
for 90% of the specified measurement period (T). In BS 4142: 1990 it is
used to define background noise level. LAeq,T : the equivalent continuous
sound level -the sound level of a notionally steady sound having the same
energy as a fluctuating sound over a specified measurement period (T).
LAeq,T is used to describe many types of noise and can be measured directly
with an integrating sound level meter. It is written as Leq in connection
with aircraft noise. LAmax: the highest A weighted noise level recorded
during a noise event. The time weighting used (F or S) should be stated.
Noise and Number Index (NNI): A composite measure of exposure to aircraft
noise that takes into account the average peak noise level and the number
of aircraft in a specific period. Now generally superseded by Leq. Noise
index: a measure of noise over a period of time which correlates well with
average subjective response.
Rating level: the noise level of an industrial noise source which includes an adjustment for the character of the noise. Used in BS 4142: 1990. Rw: single number rating used to describe the sound insulation of building elements. It is defined in BS 5821: 1984