back issues/recent headlines       pre-2010 headlines          Contact & Home Page

A unique subscription-only newsletter for those working in
UK environmental noise

Aug Sept 2018 Issue 125  headlines

Do nothing counts as mitigation

Highways England is meeting its targets for improving the noise climate – but only because it has diluted the targets. It counts an area as “mitigated” if a homeowner declines double glazing.

Road to zero promises ‘transformative’ quiet

Government has published its Road to Zero clean vehicle strategy. It promises more electric vehicles which it says will lead to “transformative” cuts in noise in cities.

Collars banned

Anti barking collars are set to be banned following a consultation.

Stansted to court

Stop Stansted Expansion (SSE) has filed an Application for Judicial Review with the High Court.

NPPF toughens agent of change

The revised National Planning Policy Framework has been finalised. It differs little from the draft circulated earlier this year (Noise Bulletin Jan p1).

Broadland railway bleeper not a nuisance

A railway crossing alarm is not a nuisance, the Local Authority Ombudsman has confirmed.

Ball noise ok

Harlow Cricket Club has won its appeal to install more nets at its club.

Restaurant fine

The operator of a restaurant where loud music was repeatedly blasted out up until 3am was ordered to pay £7,250 following a successful prosecution by the Royal Borough of Greenwich.

Six challenge Heathrow NPS

Six challenges have been tabled to the national policy statement that enables expansion of Heathrow.

Drone laws ignore nuisance potential

Government is putting in increased regulation of drones but the issue of noise nuisance is only indirectly addressed.

High noise fears in Brentford downplayed

A planning inspector has approved flats in Brentford despite “very high” noise from the M4 motorway.

ANC careers site

The Association of Noise Consultants has launched a new online showcase designed to attract more students into acoustics.

Slough fine

A Slough bar has been fined more than £2000 for a string of noise complaints, following an investigation by the council.

Plan dilutes noise aspirations

Noise aspirations put forward in the Knightsbridge Neighbourhood Plan have been watered down during examination by an inspector.

SEPA criticised for permit failure

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) has been criticised for failing to include noise in a waste permit. A resident complained to the Scottish Ombudsman because of the failures.

Fracking shake up takes shape

Moving decision making on fracking planning applications to a national level contradicts the principles of localism and would likely exacerbate existing mistrust between communities and the fracking industry, MPs say.

Shale planning

A consultation has been launched on whether to deregulate shale exploration.

Lancs go ahead

Cuadrilla has received final hydraulic fracture consent DBEIS for its first horizontal shale gas exploration well at its Preston New Road site in Lancashire.

Safeguards needed

The Government should establish a new independent oversight body—the Environmental Enforcement and Audit Office (EEAO) — modelled on the National Audit Office (NAO), to ensure that the governance, enforcement, oversight and policy functions currently carried out by Europe are not lost.

Somerset sanction

A woman from Worle who ignored a noise abatement notice has been ordered to pay hundreds of pounds in fines and costs.

High Court quashes housing

Planning permission for housing near a noisy factory has been quashed following a High Court challenge.

Societal benefits of green areas valued

A government statistics body has ‘costed’ the benefits of green space. The value associated with living near a green space is estimated to be just over £130 billion in the UK.

Noise ruled out on birthweight

Noise has been ruled out as a risk factor in low birthweight. Some studies have suggested noise can increase stress and blood pressure which then leads to low birthweight and premature babies.

Wales (again) sets out action

Wales has again moved ahead of other UK regions by setting out a noise action plan. Lis Stedman reports

Battersea heliport under scrutiny

An acoustics study has found that noise levels around the London Heliport in Battersea could pose a health danger to some residents along the flight path. Lisa Russell reports.