Issue - items at meetings - Quiet Areas Report

Report of the Strategic Director, Place (copy attached).

62.1         The Committee considered a report of the Strategic Director, Place that provided the findings of the Noise Action Plan produced by DEFRA for Brighton Agglomeration and the findings of the Brighton & Hove City Council report identifying proposed quiet areas. The report requested that the identified open spaces be proposed to DEFRA as quiet areas and that the designated quiet areas be included and considered in the next local planning policy document and inform the Local Transport Plan (LTP) policy. The report was supplemented by a presentation by the Head of Regulatory Services.

62.2         Councillor Hawtree stated that a distinction needed to be made between noise and sound as sometimes external sounds were necessary particularly to visually impaired people.

62.3         Councillor Theobald queried the necessity of producing the report and its consideration by Committee. Councillor Theobald stated that he had a number of doubts about the instigation of quiet areas amongst others; the contradiction in designating a quiet area in a space that had a number of events such as the Royal Pavilion and how quiet areas would be enforced.

62.4         The Chair stated that there were a number of positives to the report. The report did not address the general noise of events but the impact of transport related noise and its impact on people’s health and wellbeing. The Chair added that quiet areas also had a positive effect for those with hearing issues.

62.5         Councillor Cox stated that he had concern that the report had been produced purely on an ideological basis and he had concerns that there was no specific cost to the implementation of quiet areas.

62.6         The Chair replied that there were no significant costs and the recommendation was that the results of the Noise Action Plan be recognised in other areas of work such as local planning and the LTP. The Chair added that, as was explained in the report, this was centrally a protection issue about how noise was managed.

62.7         Councillor Deane noted her concern for an increase in noise problems associated with aircraft and the expansion of Shoreham Airport.

62.8         The Chair then put the recommendations to the vote with the following result:

For: 4

Against: 6

62.9         RESOLVED- That the recommendations are not carried.