§ Mr. KeyTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence when the 130 decibel live firing limit on Salisbury Plains was established; how this figure was arrived at; with whom it was agreed; how often it has been breached in the past year; how many complaints have been received about live firing in the past year; and from whom. [41181]
§ Mr. SpellarMy Department has observed a voluntary limit of 130 decibels for live firing on Salisbury Plain Training Area since 1984, except in certain areas where such a limit would have a serious impact on training. This figure was set at a level that would allow normal training to be undertaken, while preventing unreasonable disturbance to the local community.
It is not currently possible to measure every noise event on Salisbury Plain throughout the year, and so determine on how many occasions, if any, noise from live firing has exceeded 130 decibels. However, a detailed noise monitoring survey was carried out during Exercise IRON TORNADO, an artillery concentration on Salisbury Plain in September 1997, which showed that noise in residential areas around the Plain did not exceed 125 decibels during the four day exercise.
523WBetween 1 May 1997 and 30 April 1998, 45 complaints were made about the noise of live firing on Salisbury Plain, by local residents.