The Mayor's Ambient Noise Strategy - Greater London Authority

202 Mayor of London
The Mayor’s Ambient Noise Strategy
Monitoring data will normally be most useful when collected as part of
active and responsive system management, independently verified where
appropriate. Government, regional and local authorities should, where
necessary, have legal sanctions of last resort. Also, however, noise and
vibration impacts are highly dependent on precise local physical
relationships between source and receiver - to a much greater extent than
with many other pollutants. People’s responses are strongly influenced by
local context. These factors mean that many aspects of noise policy are
best built ‘from the ground up’. Issues include management of strategic
roads, but also community plans, design input in development control
negotiations - including in schemes not referred to the Mayor - urban
regeneration, and local traffic management.
5.22 A pro-active approach to improving city soundscapes needs to be
integrated into urban regeneration, transport, housing and parks
management, town planning, urban design, and many other areas of
urban management. Higher density living is likely to be most successful
where noise management is built into urban management, such as
through warden and concierge schemes. Requirements of the European
Environmental Noise Directive include preparation of action plans. 15 Work
at the level of detail of neighbourhood planning is most likely to provide
the ‘fine grain’ understanding of a locality which will identify
improvements that genuinely reflect local needs, implemented in ways
that can be sustained.
5.23 Partnership working will be vital to improving London’s noise environment
- including with the London boroughs and executive agencies, notably the
Environment Agency. During consultation on this strategy, a number of
authorities expressed informal interest in Londonwide working to develop
and share good practice and make best use of scarce resources. Because of
the lack of a dedicated budget for noise mitigation, and no framework of
powers comparable, for example, with air quality management, this
strategy has focused on identifying action using existing instruments. The
work of Transport for London and links with the boroughs, both on
transport and through the planning system, will be key.
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The Mayor will urge the Government to provide a framework for action
which integrates noise management at all relevant levels of social,
economic and environmental decision-making, including in strategy and
planning, regulation, enforcement, provision of incentives and investment.
The Mayor will work with area-based and other partnerships, boroughs,
and specialist agencies to assess how improved noise management can be
incorporated into their on-going planning and implementation