UK - railway noise

[John Ashworth]

Environmental noise maps go online

* Jo Adetunji
* The Guardian,
* Saturday May 17 2008

Online noise maps which allow users to enter their postcode to find out noise levels in their area were published by the government yesterday. The maps, which cover 23 urban areas in England, show the level of environmental noise from industries, airports, road and rail networks over 24-hour periods or during the night.

But users hoping the service will help with cases against noisy neighbours will be disappointed. The maps are created using computer-generated models based on noise samples taken in 2006-07. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, which hosts the site, said the maps were not that detailed. However, it hopes the maps will help to reduce unwanted noise pollution and allow them to make plans to tackle the worst areas.

The environment minister, Jonathan Shaw, said: "Factors like transport and industry are a necessary part of modern life. But we need to look at what further practical steps we can take to make people's lives more tranquil. These maps provide the most comprehensive snapshot yet of noise in our country, all at the click of a mouse.

"We will use them to draw up action plans to reduce noise where practical from major roads and railways, as well as urban areas. The plans will include measures to protect designated quiet areas from any increase in noise."

The maps are a result of the EU's environmental noise directive, which requires member states to develop action plans "designed to manage noise issues and effects, including noise reduction if necessary". The directive followed a European commission green paper which said that 20% of European citizens were exposed to noise levels that scientists and health experts thought could have health risks.

Campaign groups welcomed the news but said more needed to be done. Peter Wakeham, director of the Noise Abatement Society, said: "It's a start but it's the minimum. We hope it will move forward an ambient noise strategy about how to reduce the noise, which the government has been promising for eight years.

"What the maps don't have are football stadiums, nightclubs, military training ranges. If you live near Wembley it's terrible at the weekend. The maps need to be validated. At the moment they're just computer projections, not sound level recordings. At least they recognise there's a problem."

Defra said the directive did not cover noise made by people and while there were no plans for an ambient noise strategy, action plans could be taken into account in wider national strategies. Ambient noise is the noise created by human activity and includes sound from transport and industry.

The maps cover 67,000 miles of road, 3,000 miles of railway and the areas around 18 airports. The website also includes the number of people exposed to noise levels. The areas covered are: Birkenhead, Blackpool, Bournemouth, Brighton, Bristol, Coventry, Hull, Leicester, Liverpool, London, Manchester, Nottingham, Portsmouth, Preston, Reading, Sheffield, Southampton, Southend, Teesside, the Potteries, Tyneside, West Midlands and West Yorkshire.

This article appeared in the Guardian on Saturday May 17 2008 on p24 of the International section. It was last updated at 00:04 on May 17 2008.