Road Works: Noise
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make an assessment of the effectiveness of environmental protection legislation to limit noise pollution from roadworks in built-up areas on weekends.
Answered by Emma Hardy
The Government is committed to ensuring that noise is managed effectively to promote good health and minimise disruption to people’s quality of life.
Section 60 of the Control of Pollution Act allows Local Authorities to address noise from construction sites, including roadworks, by serving a notice imposing requirements as to how the construction may be carried out. This notice may specify a range of conditions, including hours during which the work can be carried out, and the level of noise that may be emitted during specific hours. While there the law does not specify permitted hours for works, weekend work involving noise is commonly restricted to the hours between 8am and 1pm on a Saturday, although there may be circumstances where a Local Authority deems the work to be of sufficient priority for work to be carried out outside of these hours.
In all cases, Local Authorities are required under the Control of Pollution Act to ensure best practicable means are employed to minimise noise and protect people in the locality from the effects of noise. The law is designed to enable decisions to be made while taking into account the specifics of a local context.
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