Is legislation on noise fit-for-purpose?

Contact

Joseph Lewis

What’s the big deal with noise pollution?

Climate change and biodiversity loss are existential threats. Air pollution is the largest environmental threat to human health and leads to at least 29000 premature deaths in the UK each year, while the pollution of rivers has captured the public imagination. So why do we care about noise pollution?

The truth is that noise pollution is not a minor nuisance. If noise is too loud, it can cause lasting effects like hearing damage and tinnitus. Even at quieter levels, ongoing noise pollution can have chronic effects on health, particularly when it disrupts sleep or creates stress. We might brush it off as simply annoying at the time, but this can increase our risk of getting conditions such as heart disease, strokes, diabetes and dementia.

Many of these issues were highlighted in the House of Lords Science and Technology Committee’s Neglected Pollutants report, which emphasised that, despite the substantial associated risks, noise pollution (and light pollution) are “poorly understood and poorly regulated”.

How do we regulate noise? Key legislation and rules

Given the low historic profile of noise pollution, regulation is piecemeal and spread across a range of rules and laws. Some of the most important pieces of legislation include:

The Environmental Protection Act 1990: One of the most important pieces of legislation for noise pollution is the 1990 Environmental Protection Act, which sets out a definition of statutory nuisance, as well as a range of measures dealing with neighbour and commercial noise.
Environmental Noise Regulations 2006: Another key legislative framework for noise pollution comes from retained EU law through the Environmental Noise Regulations, which implement the EU Environmental Noise Directive. The EU approach, which is embedded in UK law through the Regulations, focuses on noise mapping requirements and action plans for major roads, railways, airports, and cities.
Noise Policy Statement for England (NPSE): A significant lever for influencing noise outcomes is planning policy, where the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) draws heavily on the NPSE to ensure that decisions consider the impacts of new noise caused by development. At their core, planning policies focus on the Agent of Change principle, which places the burden on managing pollution from new land uses on the party responsible for introducing a change of land use, so when new housing is built near commercial venues, the new developer is responsible for managing the effects of potential noise pollution.
Licensing laws: Beyond planning policy, noise is also controlled through licensing laws, which are particularly important for controlling noise from commercial venues.

While these rules cover a range of scenarios, including some of the largest drivers of noise pollution, such as planning and transport, the framework as a whole is piecemeal, brought together from several disparate and disconnected sources.

Is noise policy fit-for-purpose?

Compared to other forms of pollution, noise lacks a strategic and joined-up approach. There are several gaps in the regulatory approach and there is no single vision for how soundscapes should be managed across the UK or England.

Most of the approach to noise pollution has not been updated in line with other areas of environmental policy. In England, the Environmental Improvement Plan does not include any specific measures to address noise, and the Environmental Indicator Framework only directly addresses noise from transport.

By comparison, Wales has taken a more strategic approach, particularly through its Noise and Soundscape Plan for Wales 2023-2028 and the Environment (Air Quality and Soundscapes) (Wales) Act 2024. These provide a strategic plan for addressing soundscapes as a whole, including through joined-up action on air quality. While Wales already had a Soundscapes Action Plan, the revised approach through the new Act is still relatively nascent.

The Welsh approach is a positive case study that shows a more strategic plan for noise pollution is possible. It also shows that we can tackle noise beyond individual sources.

There are still gaps in our approach to noise pollution across the country, and the biggest one is the implementation gap. In practical terms, addressing the effects of noise means making things happen at the local level, where resources are constrained and information about noise is limited.

That’s just one reason why Noise Action Week is so important: it puts power back in the hands of local authorities by providing resources and knowledge that can improve noise outcomes on the ground.

Emerging sources of concern for noise pollution

Beyond these challenges, there are also emerging concerns around new sources of noise pollution, which the current framework is not sufficiently equipped to address. Given the focus of noise regulations on specific sources, new sources present an immediate challenge for policy, as they can quickly slip through the gaps in regulation and create new risks for public health.

Economic and social changes are driving these new sources of noise pollution, as well as the process of technological development. The CIEH’s Noise Complaint Data Briefing 2026 included evidence of 326 noise complaints linked to holiday lets, such as Airbnb properties, as well as roughly 100 complaints around air source heat pumps.

As the energy transition continues, planning frameworks need to properly account for the best ways to deliver sustainable approaches to heating while mitigating the potential for health impacts from noise. These two goals are not a necessary trade-off: the comparatively small number of complaints about air source heat pumps shows that the vast majority have been delivered in an appropriate way.

Drones are also a potential emerging source of concern, as their use becomes more widespread and prolific. The evidence is currently very limited, so regulation needs to keep pace as technology rapidly develops and becomes more accessible to the public.

What next: how can we speak up on noise pollution?

Noise Action Week is one month away. Now is the time to get noise pollution back on the agenda.

There is a real opportunity to raise the volume on noise action, spreading public awareness and making the case for a better policy approach. But the landscape is noisy, so we need to speak with one voice if we want to be heard. By supporting Noise Action Week, you can help make meaningful progress on noise.

Our Environmental Policy Implementation Community (EPIC) is pushing for a better approach to noise, putting a spotlight on this neglected pollutant even as we continue to address climate change, biodiversity loss, air quality, and other pressing environmental challenges.

Get involved: if you want to support the work of the IES to stand up for science and nature, become an affiliate, or if you’re an environmental professional, join the IES.

Read more about how to support Noise Action Week and sign up to the Noise Action Week mailing list for the latest news
Register for one of the Noise Action Week events, including the launch event, a day in the life of an acoustician webinar, our case study webinar on electric buses in Oxford, or the healthy sound session on best practice for pubs and clubs
Join EPIC to support effective delivery of environmental policy and action on noise pollution
Learn more about recent policy developments in our briefings on clean air, water policy and land and nature policy
Find out more by reading the latest articles from Essential Environment, including insights on England’s new Land Use Framework and our analysis on the future of Environmental Impact Assessment and what it means for environmental experts

If you want to learn more about environmental policy or the training we offer for members, please contact Joseph Lewis, Head of Policy (joseph@the-ies.org).