Well not quite! As we are all probably familiar now, the grey belt is a term introduced by our current government to assist with the housing shortfall, it is to allow development on ‘poor quality’ and ‘ugly’ pockets of green belt, or those that have existing disused structures. While the grey belt is only a small percentage of England, like with brownfield sites it potentially comes with its own challenges when it comes to obtaining planning permission.
By its very nature grey belt is likely to be adjacent to noise generating sites or infrastructure. Developing this land for housing may require some creative thinking to cross the planning finish line.
Prior to purchasing grey belt land or finalising a site or internal layouts consider whether noise could be an issue. Noise can be a significant deciding factor when it comes to obtaining planning permission. Can loud external noise sources be mitigated or screened, are the aims of the National Planning Policy Framework met, can internal noise levels meet the BS 8233:2014 criteria, following a BS 4142:2014+A1:2019 assessment is the impact low, adverse or significant adverse?
Often there is the misconception that only new noise sources such as factories or warehouses require a noise assessment, however, the introduction of residential dwellings close to an existing noise source could also require an acoustic assessment. Firstly, amenity and internal levels need to be met for the future occupiers but as the “agent of change” the new dwellings must also not be negatively impacted by existing noise sources. New residents could complain about a noise that has not previously been an issue, the local authority would be obliged to investigate and potentially the use may not be able to continue.
It is not all doom and gloom; check whether noise could be an issue, proper research and advice can progress grey belt land into new homes. Crucially establish at your earliest opportunity whether noise is a factor in your development and plan.
Instruct a suitable qualified and experienced acoustic consultant to assess a site so you can crunch the figures and make an informed decision whether a development is viable and profitable. Decide site layouts based on comprehensive environmental noise and noise impact assessments. Mitigation measures may require habitable rooms to orientated in a certain direction, glazing to be enhanced and whole house ventilation, all factors which are better considered during the design process and before submitting a planning allocation.
If you need a noise survey, acoustic deign advice, or some other noise related project please click here to get in touch.