Noise Impact Assessment In Portsmouth - Call 0239 366 0106
We offer an extensive range of services in relation to the measurement and prediction of noise within two primary sectors: environmental acoustics and building and architectural acoustics.
Our noise assessment team have many years experience with all kinds of sound-related assessments and meet the latest legislation while adhering to all the Government guidelines covering Portsmouth.
We will discuss your survey requirements with every EHO (environmental health officer) to ensure clarity
There's more than one way noise can impact the environment and from a variety of sources such as:
• Industrial Sites
• Construction Work
• Road Traffic
• Animals
• Aircraft
• Entertainment Venues
All of these noise types can have very different characteristics from continuous to intermittent and broadband to tonal. Everything this will be taken into account when assessing the noise impact that a new or existing development in Portsmouth has on the local climate.
What Is A Noise Assessment?
You're likely to require a noise assessment when requesting planning permission in Portsmouth. This will tell you how your development will impact the surrounding area in terms of the noise created but also the impact the surrounding noise can have to your proposed development. The results can also predict how the property's noise will impact the area over significant lengths of time by taking a base reading of the existing level and then suggesting how, if at all, the new development will make an impact.
It's not just new developments that require a noise test either. You may also be asked to have one carried out if your business is extending its working hours and as such will have a different impact on the area than when the hours were shorter.
The same survey can be undertaken long after construction is complete to test whether too much noise is being created to the point it's impacting local residents, businesses or commercial spaces. This is normally concerning night-time noise (between the hours of 11pm and 7am) when the allowed noise levels of a property are reduced.
Where mitigation measures are required to reduce noise to an acceptable level, we will discuss and agree with your design team the best course of action and incorporate these into the report.
What Are The Portsmouth Noise Level Limits?
The maximum limit on what is considered acceptable noise levels at night are measured against the World Health Organization's (WHO) definition on what level is required for a good night sleep in Portsmouth. During the day the acceptable level is around 55dB and drops to about 45dB at night.
When it comes to reporting a loud establishment in Portsmouth, however, it's more down to the discretion of local authorities whether levels are considered a nuisance or not. This is due to how different people class different levels of noise as a nuisance. An example of this is a study by Massachusetts General Hospital who took twelve self-described deep sleepers and found some were able to sleep through a blast of noise at 70dB where others would wake at just 40dB.
When judging the impact of noise on the local residents, the Noise Impact Assessment will tell you how much noise is likely to be created and whether anybody would be affected by the levels.
Noise Impact Assessment - Light Reading
Below are just a few documents that will help to explain both what a survey is and what is involved in undertaking one as well as if one is even required in your circumstances.
• Noise Impact Assessment: Information Requirements
• Noise Impact Assessment - An E2 Overview
• The Impact of Environmental Noise
Examples of Noise Levels
It's one thing to know how loud you should be during the day or through the night in decibels but how loud is loud? Here are some noise level examples to put things into perspective.
A whisper is about 30dB with normal conversation almost double at 55dB. Household items are a good scale too from a dishwasher at 60dB to a vacuum cleaner around 70db and then outside a lawnmower can be 90dB. From there a chainsaw is 100dB, amplified music approximately 120dB and then a jet engine comes in at a whopping 150dB.
Looking at these values you might naturally question how a jet engine can only be 3 times that of a normal conversation. That's because decibels don't work on that kind of scale. The scale works on multiples of ten so 10dB is 10 times more powerful than 0dB but then 20dB is 100 times more powerful than 0dB, 30dB is 1000 times more powerful than 0dB and so on.
Short term exposure at 120dB can be enough to cause long-term damage whereas long term exposure at 85dB, less than a lawnmower, would also be enough to cause hearing damage.
Our Noise-Related Case Studies
What Are The Affects Of Noise In Portsmouth?
Not only can noise have an impact on the environment and your hearing but it's been proven that loud impacts can have negative results on other areas of the body too. These results can include, but are not limited to:
• Increased Blood Pressure
• Irregular Heartbeat
• Premature Birth
• Digestion Disruption
• Upset Stomach / Ulcers
• Faster Breathing Rate
• Difficulty Sleeping (even after exposure ends)
More people in Portsmouth are affected by noise from transportation sources than any other. For road, rail and air transport, there are established and recommended methods for predicting and recording the noise. We provide all necessary measurements, assessments and technical capability to support the noise and vibration input into an environmental statement.
