§ Mrs. DunwoodyTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimates he has made of the number of households in Great Britain where the level of noise as a result of traffic is(a) between 55dB and 68dB, and (b) greater than 68dB. [39483]
§ Mr. WattsI have asked the chief executive of the Highways Agency to write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Lawrie Haynes to Mrs. Gwyneth Dunwoody, dated 24 July 1996:
The Secretary of State for Transport has asked me to reply to your Parliamentary Question concerning estimates of the number of households in Great Britain where the level of noise as a result of traffic is (a) between 55dB and 68dB and (b) greater than 68dB.In 1980 the Noise Advisory Council estimated that about 3 million households in England suffered a level of noise exceeding 68dB(A) as a result of road traffic. The Highways Agency has in hand a research project scheduled to finish in late 1997 which includes a review of the data on which this estimate was based.No estimate has been made of the number of households where the noise levels lie between 55 and 68dB(A).