Since March 2020, Covid has had a major impact on noise levels from traffic, shops and places of entertainment. As some of these changes are likely to be temporary the conclusions of external noise surveys for planning need to reflect these potential impacts to ensure that the noise targets agreed for new schemes are appropriately reflected in any planning conditions.

The Association of Noise Consultants (ANC) and the Institute of Acoustics (IOA) have  issued a useful joint guidance document on this subject “Joint Guidance on the Impact of COVID-19 on the Practicality and Reliability of Baseline Sound Level Surveying and the Provision of Sound & Noise Impact Assessments”

This document provides a guidance framework for acousticians and other building professionals to liaise with planners to inform the discussion and agreement of appropriate noise levels for new developments, on a case-by-case basis.

Hopefully this document is useful for any team finding themselves in the throws of the planning process!