Hotspots for Noise

People in 23 urban areas can now see a snapshot of noise levels in their neighbourhoods thanks to a ground breaking initiative.

A new Defra website, launched by Environment Minister Jonathan Shaw today, provides maps showing the level of environmental noise from major industries, road and rail networks in 23 urban areas in England.

The information, covering 80,000 km of roads within urban areas, 28,000 km of major road networks and almost 5,000 km of railways, will be used to draw up action plans to reduce unreasonable levels of noise, where practical. In urban areas these will also include measures to protect designated quiet areas.

Users are able to search by postcode to access maps that show noise levels over an average 24 hour period, as well as during night time hours only. The site also includes information on the number of people exposed to these levels of noise. All member states have to produce maps under the EU Environmental Noise Directive.

Just follow this link to the DEFRA website, follow the instructions and type in your postcode to see how noisy it is near you.