The Mayor's Ambient Noise Strategy - Greater London Authority

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The Mayor’s Ambient Noise Strategy Mayor of London 183 ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ soffit of any projection above, can reduce noise at a window by 5 dB 30 . The predictive capabilities of noise models need to be improved, for both towers and ‘urban canyons’ 31 . Dual façades and window design - Conservation policies will need to be balanced with the noise and energy benefits of innovative design, including design of window surrounds to offer screening, secondary glazed façades and photovoltaic exterior secondary glazing. Shallow floor plates, ventilation and cooling - Growing demand for air handling, cooling and other plant poses risk from ‘creeping ambient’ (see para 4E.11 and glossary). Much recent prime UK office development has been air-conditioned, with large floorplates. Sealed environments are suited to the noisiest locations, but plant can create noise. More continental European-style shallower floorplates should be sought, with greater use of natural ventilation. Such development is well-suited to mixed-use areas, avoiding the risk of noise from airconditioning plant. Noise from mechanical plant can also be reduced with ‘borehole cooling’. Any fans and vents on the ‘quiet side’ should be well-silenced and/or screened, with regular maintenance. Visually attractive ways of incorporating vents on street frontages should be considered, such as in ‘banner’ light features. Where more sustainable alternatives cannot be achieved, effective ways need to be secured to control noise from mechanical plant throughout operational life. This applies especially to growing numbers of small ‘bolt-on’ cooling or air handling units in dense, mixed use areas. Vehicle access and parking - Car free developments could reduce the need for hard paving, as well as noise sources. Waste storage and collection should be located away and/or screened from noisesensitive uses. Car parking and service areas should be screened, enclosed, or buffered with less sensitive uses. Enclosed car parks and bays should be designed to minimise sound reverberation and breakout. Lockable gates to residential courtyards at night can reduce disturbance from vehicles and on-street revellers, especially in mixed use areas, while avoiding the sort of exclusion associated with the 24- hour gated enclave. Maintenance and cleaning -Quiet equipment and processes should be specified (e.g. raking, sweeping and local composting, rather than leaf blowing and carting away). Features of soundscape interest - Many sounds may be positive or negative depending on context (e.g. active water, wind in trees or rushes, loose surfaces, gratings, reverberant spaces). Balancing needs - Passive solar design, in which homes need to face roughly south, may make it difficult to create a ‘quiet side’. Noise
184 Mayor of London The Mayor’s Ambient Noise Strategy screening could increase shading. More linking of buildings to reduce noise propagation may mean accepting some change in local character, although visual monotony can be avoided by set-backs and many other design features. Very long or deep ‘urban canyons’ may inhibit dispersion of air pollutants. The balance between noise reduction and other needs should be struck on a place-specific basis, taking account of potential changes in noise sources, and in competing needs, over the lifetime of the development. 4F.25 Building over car parks, servicing ways, depots, yards and other noise sources, as well as railways and roads (see Chapters 4A and 4B) could provide valuable space for mixes of recreation, housing, commercial and other needs, as well as shielding people in the surrounding area from noise. Rising land values mean that more locations may be viable. Development gain could potentially support noise screening or other mitigation beyond the bridging development itself. Design must, of course, protect occupants of development over transport facilities from structure-borne vibration. Absorptive linings can address reverberant noise from openings. 4F.26 City soundscapes can be part of their distinctive historic character. However, it is rarely possible to ‘preserve’ something as inherently transient as sound. Nevertheless, urban noise management should consider distinctive features such as bells, water, wind in trees, and reverberant spaces such as railway arches and street arcades. Soundradiating structures such as metal bridges may be annoying in one context, but features of interest in another. Audible features, as well as specific signals, can aid orientation and wayfinding by people with a visual impairment. 4F.27 The Mayor has proposed preparation of additional guidance on issues including sustainable design and construction, urban design, public realm, and sustainable suburbs. For example, greater use of natural ventilation and innovative forms of cooling need to be encouraged, reducing potential noise from air conditioning plant. Opportunities will be identified to develop and promote the various elements of better design for noise, integrated with other needs, including in association with the work of the Mayor’s Architecture and Urbanism Unit. policy 77 The Mayor will urge the Government, as part of developing National Ambient Noise Strategy, to support: ■ Review of international good practice in sound-conscious urban design, including costs, effectiveness, administrative and policy mechanisms;
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