Demolition and Construction

The demolition and construction phases of a project are the phases over which potential noise and vibration impacts are at their greatest. There are however difficulties in applying the same noise control measures to temporary activities as are applied to permanent installations and operations as:

•  Noise control measures can be restrictive and can result in unreasonable prolonging of site works;
•  Work sites are not fixed and change according to the demands of the programme;
•  Mobile plant is used which imposes limits on the scope of noise control measures.

In England, no statutory fixed limits apply to construction site noise. However guidance to local authorities and developers is given in BS 5228 and DoE Advisory Leaflet AL 72 (now out of print) which provides guidance on levels of noise that may be acceptable.

The practice offers the following services:

•  Prediction of noise and vibration from site activity in accordance with BS 5228;
•  Preparation of prior consent applications under S61 of the Control of Pollution Act;
•  Short term and long term noise monitoring;
•  Vibration monitoring to gauge human response (BS 6472) and the risk of cosmetic damage to buildings (BS 7385).