Stuart Anderson MP has invited his constituents to submit ideas on where new innovative noise acoustic cameras should be piloted. The call for ideas is ahead of an application that Stuart will be making to the Department for Transport to pilot the new technology that can crack down on noisy motorists in the most-impacted areas of his constituency. It is part of ongoing work following the publication of the Levelling Up White Paper to ensure that communities can peacefully enjoy their public and residential spaces again. The Government has committed to ensuring that all parts of Britain have effective tools for tackling excessive noise pollution, especially incidents that constitute crime and anti-social behaviour.
Existing legislation requires exhausts and silencers to be maintained in good working order and not altered as to increase noise. The Police can issue fines for non-compliance with these requirements, yet they often have trouble gathering evidence. The latest phase of noise trials builds on a 3-year programme led by the Atkins-Jacobs Joint Venture to perfect the technology, which can detect when vehicles are breaking legal noise requirements. The technology, which is backed by £300,000, will provide local enforcement authorities with the tools and evidence to take action against drivers who flout noise laws.
Stuart has welcomed the trials, which he says will help to stop the worst perpetrators of excessive noise pollution in their tracks. It comes as research demonstrate that noise pollution can have significant impact on physical and mental health for residents. In England alone, the annual social cost of urban road noise was estimated to be up to £10 billion a decade ago. This is the total economic cost of exposure to noise pollution, including lost productivity from sleep disturbance and health costs from heart attacks, strokes, and dementia. Complaints about noise are highest among the most economically deprived areas, with those in more disadvantaged areas as much as three times as likely to suffer from noise nuisance.
Stuart Anderson MP said: “Excessive noise pollution can cause a real misery to local communities, resulting in children struggling to get a good night’s sleep and hard-working people’s lives made more stressful. I welcome the roadside trials of these acoustic cameras, which will help to ensure the worst perpetrators of urban road noise are stopped in their tracks. I invite all constituents to let me know where the new technology should be piloted so that we can together reduce the noise that fellow residents are exposed to and better address the impact of it on our city’s health, wellbeing, and natural environment.”
Transport Secretary the Rt. Hon. Grant Shapps MP said: “We want those in Britain’s noisiest streets, who are kept up at night by unbearable revving engines and noisy exhausts, to come forward with the help of volunteer areas to test and perfect the latest innovative technology. For too long, rowdy drivers have been able to get away with disturbing our communities with illegal noisy vehicles. It’s time we clamp down on this nuisance, banish the boy racer and restore peace and quiet to local streets.”
Constituents have until Friday, the 20th of May 2022 to contact Stuart with ideas for the pilots. They can email stuart.anderson.mp@parliament.uk.
