CIEH Launches Noise Survey

CIEH has today launched its flagship Noise Survey, which, in England and Wales, provides the only source of information on the vital contribution made by environmental health professionals working to resolve noise complaints.

CIEH Noise Survey

The launch takes place during Noise Action Week, a week of activity aimed at raising awareness of the cost of noise to the health and wellbeing of communities and individuals.

Public Health England uses CIEH noise data for the Public Health Outcomes Framework, which establishes an important link between noise and impact on people’s health. In 2017, the Chief Medical Officer annual report referenced the survey to emphasise that “environmental noise comes second in burden of disease to air pollution and arguably is responsible for more disturbance of quality of life."

Supported by RH Environmental (RHE), this year’s survey has been simplified to make it quicker and easier for local authorities to complete.

CIEH plans to use the results of the survey to engage with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and the Welsh Government to ensure that the important links between noise and public health form part of national policy decisions.

CIEH are planning to publish the data collected in an anonymised, aggregated form by region, later this year

Tamara Sandoul, Policy Manager at CIEH, said:

“Noise has a significant impact on health, productivity and quality of life for many people. That’s why we would like to raise the profile of this important issue and the amount of work done by environmental health professionals to resolve noise complaints

With today’s launch of the CIEH noise survey, we are looking for as many local authorities as possible to help us by contributing some simple data. We will use the information to engage with key Government departments on this important issue.”