§ Mr. Bill O'BrienTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what proposals he has to assist residents who suffer from excessive noise from motorways; and if he will make a statement. [93277]
§ Ms Glenda JacksonI will write to my hon. Friend and place a copy of my letter in the Library.
§ Mr. Bill O'BrienTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will make a statement on the responsibility for the measuring and monitoring of noise levels at properties where motorways have been built. [93203]
§ Ms Glenda JacksonThere is no requirement for noise levels to be monitored after a road has been built. But within six months of the final offers of noise insulation under the legislation applying to new or substantially altered roads, residents living within 300 metres of such a road who had not been offered insulation have an opportunity to appeal for the assessment to be reviewed. In such cases, it is not general practice to undertake noise measurements, but to calculate the statistical level of noise required by the Regulations from the flow of traffic and other relevant factors.
§ Mr. Bill O'BrienTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what studies his Department has carried out to identify high and unreasonable noise levels in properties where motorways were built before 1988; and if he will make a statement. [93276]
§ Ms Glenda JacksonFollowing our announcement on 22 March 1999,Official Report, columns 50-51, of a ring-fenced budget for the Highways Agency to undertake noise mitigation measures in the most serious and pressing cases on existing roads, a large number of locations where concern has been expressed about noise have been assessed against the stated criteria. Detailed studies are now required to determine the feasibility of providing measures at locations meeting the criteria where there are no plans to provide a quieter road surface as part of routine maintenance operations.
§ Mr. Bill O'BrienTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what proposals he has to assist people living near motorways on which there has been a significant increase in the volume of traffic above that forecast when the motorway was built. [93207]
§ Ms Glenda JacksonThe Government announced its proposals for dealing with the problem of noise arising from those roads for which the Secretary of State has responsibility, which include the majority of motorways, in "A New Deal for Trunk Roads in England". We announced the annual budget which was being ring-fenced for the provision of noise mitigation measures on 22 March 1999,Official Report, columns 50-51, together with the criteria which would target the most serious and pressing cases, including locations affected by unexpectedly high levels of traffic growth.