Metadata detail: Environmental Noise Mapping 2022

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Environmental Noise Mapping 2022

Abstract

The Welsh Government appointed Noise Consultants Ltd (NCL) to generate strategic noise maps for Wales in 2022, using a new Noise Modelling System developed by NCL for Defra. This discharged the Welsh Ministers’ 2022 duties under the Environmental Noise (Wales) Regulations 2006 to make strategic noise maps for major roads, major railways and large urban areas (“agglomerations”) every five years, starting in 2007. To make the 2022 noise maps more useful, for example to planning authorities implementing the new TAN 11, we went beyond the requirements of the legislation on this occasion and mapped noise consistently from all roads and railways across Wales. The outputs of the 2022 noise mapping exercise are not comparable to any noise maps generated previously, because new noise mapping methods were introduced and transposed into UK law prior to leaving the European Union, and these methods calculate noise emissions and residential population exposure differently from the methods used in previous rounds. However, because we used Defra’s new Noise Modelling System, the 2022 noise maps for Wales are considered broadly comparable to and consistent with the 2022 noise maps being generated for England. Note: (1) Although described as noise maps for the purposes of the Regulations, it would be more correct to call these sound maps. The term noise refers to unwanted or harmful sound. (2) The values are calculated, not measured, and should be treated with caution when looking at specific locations. (3) Human response to industrial noise is highly dependent on the nature of the sound being heard and on the level of masking by road traffic, and these factors are not reflected in the industrial noise maps, making them of limited practical value to regulators. <ul> <li>Lden:indicates the average sound level around the clock with extra weighting given to the evening and night periods.</li> <li>Lnight:indicates the average sound level for the 8-hour period from 2300 to 0700. Similar to the LAeq,8h indicator used in TAN11 assessments, but here calculated at a height of 4 metres rather than 1.2-1.5 metres.</li> <li>LAeq,16h:indicates the average sound level for the 16-hour period from 0700 to 2300. Similar to the LAeq,16h indicator used in TAN11 assessments, but here calculated at a height of 4 metres rather than 1.2-1.5 metres.</li> </ul>

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Open Government Licence for Public Sector Information (OGL)

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Metadata : Environmental Noise Mapping 2022

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