Claremont 3G Pitch noise may exceed WHO guidance residents claim as application goes to tonight's Planning Committee

Campaigners against the proposed 3G pitch at Claremont High School which is going to Planning Committee tonight have written to Brent Planners pointing out the lack of a proper noise impact assessment by the applicants.

There are just 2 sentences included in the report without any accompanying professional assessment:

This is the letter from the Wealdstone Brook Residents' Association which they hope councillors will read before reaching a decision.

We have written to you on several occasions asking for a professional noise assessment to be made available.

We have asked you how Brent has arrived at the statements about noise that it has made in its report to the Planning Committee when no single noise assessment has ever been conducted at the site.

We have still not had any explanation from you.

Would it not be fair to say that any statements made about the perceived noise impacts could be considered 'baseless' when these are not being backed up by factual evidence?

We believe that there is no evidence to support the statements on noise made in the report to the Planning Committee. We therefore demand that these statements be struck from the report.

We have taken advice. We are convinced by the facts and find that the most basic estimates of the predicted noise impacts readily show that the noise created will likely exceed WHO guidance as has been demonstrated below.

We therefore remain resolute in requesting that the applicant provides a professional noise assessment prepared by an acoustic consultant.

Kind regards 

Wealdstone Brook Residents Ass. (Secretary).

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A recent report by the acoustic consultancy firm Bickerdike Allen Partners submitted to Brent Council on another 3G based planning application states the following:

Based on a review of sports noise surveys and similar sports noise impact assessments, a value of 73 dB LAF,max at 10 m from the edge of the pitch has been used to assess noise maxima. This value is considered representative of sounds including shouting from players on the pitch, referee whistles and ball strikes on mesh fences.

So, assuming that this is a reasonable general starting point, then it would seem reasonable to expect that the new installation at Claremont High School would equally exhibit 73 dB LAF,max at 10m from the edge of the pitch.

Some of the windows in Chapman Crescent are barely 25 metres away from the edge of the pitch.

Using basic modelling of sound attenuation it is estimated that residents in Chapman Crescent could thus expect 66 dB LAF,max at their windows.

Such noise maxima levels readily exceed WHO guidance and would create unacceptable noise impacts.

The delegated report to this planning application only makes a fleeting reference to the noise impacts. In fact, it consists of two sentences that suggest that the noise created by this application 'would not be to an extent that would warrant resistance to the proposal’.

There does not appear to be any evidence in the application to support this statement. 

However, it seems evident that the noise created by this application will in all likelihood exceed WHO guidance. There also appear reasons to suspect that the existing pitch (Ref 08/1968) may be creating noise that exceeds WHO guidance.

Invisible killer in our sights this year

We have several spots in Brent where air pollution is often above recommended safety  levels such as Neasden Lane, Ikea on the North Circular and near John Keble School in Harlesden. LINK

It is good then to welcome renewed focus on the issue with the launch of the European Year of Clear Air.

Keith Taylor the Green  MEP  for South East England joined campaigners and other politicians in launching the Year. With key European legislation up for review this year, and an estimated half a million premature deaths in Europe caused by air pollution, Mr Taylor is calling for the UK government to halt its efforts to weaken existing EU air quality standards..

EU air quality safe levels were set in the 90´s and there have been mixed results since then. While air quality has generally improved the levels of some dangerous pollutants has increased. Currently 95% of city residents in the European Union breathe ozone at levels exceeding World Health Organisation (WHO) recommended levels.

In the UK air pollution causes 29,000 deaths and contributes to over 200,000 premature deaths per year. In Mr Taylor’s constituency, the South East of England, the problem of air pollution particularly affects both city dwellers and the thousands of people who commute into London.

Mr Taylor said:

With children and the elderly being hit hardest by poor air quality, and the levels of some noxious pollutants on the rise, we badly need to see strong legislation from the European Union in 2013.”

The UK government has been accused by campaigners of attempting to weaken air pollution legislation. The UK department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs proposed “Working in partnership with other Member States, we will … amendments to the Air Quality Directive which reduce the infraction risk faced by most Member States, especially in relation to nitrogen dioxide provisions’.

 Responding to this Mr Taylor said

It beggars belief that the UK Government is trying to water down European Legislation that will protect the lives of British citizens. I urge them to back strong laws on air pollution and to improve people’s health.”

 Keith recently published a public information leaflet, ‘Air Pollution: The Invisible Killer’, to raise awareness of air pollution and its damaging health impacts. The leaflet explains how air pollution is created, how widespread the problem is, how it affects our health and how pollution can be reduced.