EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Introduction
Public awareness of environmental issues has increased in recent years. One manifestation of this is the higher expectations people have for the quality of their own environment. A major concern is environmental noise. In the UK, local authorities have responsibility for dealing with many noise issues on a day to day basis. Statistics on the number of complaints they have about noise have shown an increasing trend over the last few years.
Annual statistics on noise complaints give useful information on changes in the quality of the noise environment. However they do not give a comprehensive picture of the typical standard in an area or range of exposure since ,by definition, complaints will normally arise when the standard is below expectations.
Other methods of assessing the quality of different areas of the country are therefore necessary. Such methods could also be used to evaluate the effects of changes in policy in both planning and enforcement of noise controls. The technique of noise mapping is one such method.
Noise Mapping
The term Noise Mapping is used here in its broadest sense.
The objective is to show the effects of noise on a map. This could include straightforward maps showing noise contours, or more sophisticated approaches which incorporate other factors such as population density.
Noise Mapping can be implemented from measured or predicted noise data. It can be applied over a small area or more widely to cover complete towns or transport routes, or it can utilise geographic information systems (GIS) containing topographical maps and population information.
Noise Mapping in its more complex forms can be used as a strategic planning tool in the control of population exposure to environmental noise. If truly predictive, it can inform policy makers on the implications of possible strategies for reducing exposure (for example, by testing the effect of a modal shift from private car use to public transport or rail transport).
Objectives of Study
This report describes the finding of two research projects funded by the UK Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions (DETR).
- Project 1 - The review of noise mapping techniques in European countries other than the UK; and
- Project 2 - The examination of existing information and strategies for local area assessment by local authorities in the UK.
This study provides a comprehensive view of noise climate assessment in six EU countries other than the UK. The review found that:
- Noise mapping in some European countries has now reached a high level of sophistication in recent years, partly as a result of increased activity in response to the targets set in the Fifth Environmental Action Programme in 1993
- Noise modelling, for assessing noise climate locally in connection with particular projects, has offered an accurate way of assessing noise climate on a small scale for many years, but it is only recently that techniques have been developed to cover wider areas in order to consider population exposure to noise in a broader way.
- There are many different approaches to each of the main stages of noise mapping: the generation of noise data, the area for which mapping is applied, and the type of information presented on the maps.
- Different countries have taken a different approach to standardisation. France has adopted a standard system and Austria has a draft technique. These are not necessarily the same, and differ from the techniques used in other countries. In the Netherlands and in Germany, several different systems are used. In Denmark (and other Nordic countries) a system based on Nordic standards is used, However the technique has not been finalised there, pending further guidance from the EU.
Recording of noise climate in UK
Questionnaires were returned by 335 out of 460 of the local authorities in the UK and the following key features emerged from their responses:
- most local authorities are concerned with all categories of noise source;
- entertainment noise may be a surprisingly prevalent and increasing concern;
- road traffic noise is the most widespread transport noise concern, railway noise second and aircraft third, with over 1/3 of authorities considering aircraft noise an issue in their area,
- nearly all authorities have suitable noise measurement equipment, but few have prediction software; and
- only 11% of authorities felt they collected environmental noise data in usable form;
- local authorities generate large amounts of environmental noise measurements, but this is generally not in a form that is useful for noise climate assessment at the national level; and
- noise mapping activities in the UK are currently less developed than in some EU countries
Published 1 June 1999
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