CSA can provide the advice and evidence to help discharge noise-related planning conditions attached to commercial developments of all kinds. We have extensive experience on issues regarding external plant noise impact on noise sensitive receivers and dividing wall and floors between mixed commercial/residential developments. We pride ourselves on maintaining close professional relationships with environmental health and planning officers in local authorities all over the UK, something which is invaluable in helping us to help you get your application right – first time.

Modern leisure developments are rarely intended for a single use.  Gone are the days of putting a bowling alley into its own building where impact on neighbouring uses was of little concern.  It is now commonplace to see leisure developments where potentially conflicting uses exist within a single building.  The design of the building must optimise the internal sound insulation between the individual demises.  The developer/landlord must also be aware of the building’s potential limitations and have the appropriate wording in lease conditions to ensure that tenants provide the necessary level of fit-out to cope with their intended activities.

We have provided advice to many clients including developers, landlords and tenants.  We have a wealth of expertise in successful implementation of uses in buildings for which they were not originally designed or built.

We assist from a very early stage in the planning process with master planning for all types of developments, often, but not exclusively those with a residential element. We can produce noise contour maps to provide a visually compelling tool demonstrating the impact of noise on a large site or sites. The contour maps can be used to assist in the layout and orientation of proposed developments and help to establish the potential benefit of mitigation measures such as simple screens (e.g. roadside fences) or more involved solutions, and to assess complex cumulative impact issues.

Headline recent masterplanning successes include the country's largest Eco-Park at Ince (near Ellesmere Port), the business park, technology park, education campus, hotels and museums for Silverstone, the new Circuit of Wales development in Ebbw Vale and a number of residential schemes.

We view a successful project as one in which we effectively and fairly presented the noise impacts associated with the scheme to enable decision makers to do their job, rather than just one in which our client secures the consent they need. 

Since the demise of PPG24 the NPPF states that “planning policies and decisions should aim to avoid noise from giving rise to significant adverse impacts on health and quality of life as a result of a new development”.

CSA has developed assessment methods in close liaison with many local planning authorities to reflect their interpretation of this objective.  The database we keep of which planners and EHOs said what about noise on previous projects is one of our most highly valued resources!

Specialised knowledge and experience are required to understand the possible noise impact of new transport and infrastructure developments on surrounding areas.  In order to conform to planning regulations, a realistic estimate of the noise impact is needed with effective and practicable mitigation measures designed where necessary.  We have extensive experience in predicting noise emissions from proposed transport and infrastructure developments, designing mitigation strategies for challenging sites and providing balanced and fair noise impact assessment reports that address the requirements of local councils in a logical and pragmatic way.