Tough new soundproofing standards are being devised to put an end to the misery of noisy neighbours
NOISY neighbours should be a thing of the past in all new homes with the introduction of the most stringent sound-proofing yet.
With more than two-thirds of all complaints received by Environmental Health Officers relating to some form of domestic noise, the Government has asked the housebuilding industry to find a solution.
The House Builders Federations response has been to look for solutions that far exceed current buildings regulation guidelines.
The Federation which represents the vast majority of Britains house building firms, has asked the internationally renowned Building Performance Centre at Napier University based in the Universitys School of the Built Environment to compile information on sound insulation for a report that will form the basis of new Government guidelines to be introduced next year.
The improved Robust Standard Details for sound insulation will apply to all new houses, flats, hostel and hotel accommodation, whether newly-built or converted from other types of building.
The government Minister for Building Regulations, Chris Leslie, who asked the House Builders Federation to undertake the project, is determined that the Governments efforts to increase housing density and regenerate derelict sites, should not be undermined by homebuyers concerns about noise.
He said: These Robust Standard Details must provide consistently good performance. Officials and the building regulations Advisory Committee will assess whether the House Builders Federation has achieved this objective. If satisfied that this scheme might work successfully, I will put these proposals out to public consultation.
The House Builders Federations Director of technical services, Dave Baker, said:
Pierre Williams, HBF spokesman, said: When the Government set our industry the target of building 60 per cent of all new homes on brownfield land, we achieved that target six years ahead of schedule. Building at higher densities makes the need for excellent sound insulation even more important for homeowners. We intend to surpass expectations in this area as well.