The proposed development raises several concerns around noise, congestion and safety. Increased noise from construction activities, operational processes, and traffic (especially HGVs) will have both short and long-term negative effects on humans and wildlife. Increased traffic will result in congestion, air pollution and will impact on road safety. Concerns are:
Disturbance to local wildlife
Increased noise levels affecting residential amenity
Insufficient infrastructure to support increased traffic flow
Traffic congestion
Impact on road safety
Noise and air pollution from increased traffic
Disturbance to Local Wildlife: Increased noise from construction activities, operational processes, and traffic (especially HGVs) is likely to disrupt the behaviour of local wildlife. Species inhabiting the wet woodland and surrounding areas are sensitive to noise disturbances, which can affect their foraging, breeding, and nesting patterns.
Prolonged noise pollution may lead to reduced biodiversity or a decrease in population as sensitive species relocate. Nocturnal animals, such as certain bat and owl species identified in local biodiversity surveys, are particularly susceptible to noise pollution. Noise during nighttime operations or increased traffic flow could disrupt their natural behaviours, impacting foraging success and overall ecosystem health in these habitats.
Increased Levels Affecting Residential Amenity: Nearby residents will likely experience increased noise from both daytime operations and the influx of traffic. This constant background noise can diminish quality of life, causing potential sleep disturbances and general discomfort. Increased traffic noise may also make nearby outdoor spaces less enjoyable, further impacting local amenity.
Potential for Cumulative Noise Effects: With both construction and operational noise, combined with increased vehicle movement, there is a risk of cumulative noise effects, particularly impacting residents and wildlife near the boundaries of the development site. Without effective mitigation, these cumulative impacts could have long-term effects on both human and animal wellbeing.
Traffic Congestion: The proposed development is likely to increase traffic on surrounding roads, particularly during operational hours. Increased congestion could lead to slower travel times, especially on routes used by local residents and visitors, impacting accessibility to and from the site.
Impact on Road Safety: The anticipated increase in heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) for transportation of materials and products raises concerns about road safety, particularly for pedestrians and cyclists. With local roads potentially ill-equipped to handle additional HGV traffic, the risk of accidents could increase.
Noise and Air Pollution from Increased Traffic: Additional vehicle movements, especially by HGVs, are likely to result in increased noise and air pollution in the vicinity. This could negatively impact the health and wellbeing of residents as well as degrade the quality of the surrounding natural environment.
Insufficient Infrastructure to Support Increased Traffic Flow: The current road infrastructure may not adequately support the anticipated increase in vehicle volume associated with the development. Without significant improvements or modifications to roadways, bottlenecks and access issues could worsen, affecting not only the development site but also local traffic flow.
The Environment Health document states
“Condition 6 of application 11/01271/OUT should be repeated for this application so that it continues to apply to the whole site. i.e. Noise from the proposed development associated with any plant, machinery, refrigeration equipment, air conditioning units, and similar plant including the cumulative effect of such noise generating sources shall be inaudible at the nearest noise sensitive premises. Such noise generating sources can be engineered at the design stage, by consideration of the location of such sources in relation to the nearest residential premises, both in terms of distance and possible screening.”
‘“Noise Sensitive Premises" is defined as places where a building's occupants may be resting, sleeping or studying. This includes residential premises, offices, hotels, hospitals, nursing homes and schools. Noise Sensitive Premises Assessment BS 8233 | Air Tightness Solutions
Within the current objections made, it was noted in a news report (27th February 2024) that one member of the public commented:
"The lorries shake my house as they pass and can wake me up at night.”
There has been no investigation into the current noise levels caused by the plant and machinery, including haulage vehicles. Sounds above 85 decibels are harmful to human hearing.
As far as we are aware, there has been no use of daily or weekly noise exposure calculations to estimate noise exposure.
Brackenfield school currently utilises a nearby playing field for physical education studies, and we are concerned how the development might impact on this, in terms of noise disruption.
The proposed development includes onsite office spaces and as such, the noise from the factory would likely be in breach of Condition 6 in relation to these offices. We therefore suggest that these plans are unrealistic in terms of The Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005.
Sources:
Harrogate Spring Water plant expansion proposals spark concerns - BBC News