What planners actually look for in a noise report

A noise report should provide the planning authority with clear, robust evidence to inform its decision. When applications stall, it’s rarely because the noise itself is unacceptable — it’s because the evidence didn’t make the case clearly. The good news is that the failure points are predictable.

The common failure points

In our experience, reports get pushed back for a handful of recurring reasons: the wrong standard applied, baseline data that doesn’t represent real conditions, mitigation that isn’t realistic, and conclusions a non-specialist can’t follow.

• An assessment method that doesn’t fit the development type
• Baseline measurements taken at unrepresentative times
• Mitigation that looks good on paper but won’t be built
• A summary that buries the conclusion in technical detail

Start with the right standard

The single most important decision is which guidance applies. Get this right and the rest of the report follows logically; get it wrong and even perfect data won’t save it. This is where independent professional judgement earns its place.

“A noise report isn’t a data dump. It’s an argument — and like any argument, it has to be easy to agree with.”

Show your working

Decision-makers trust reports that are transparent about method and assumptions. We set out exactly what was measured, when, and why — so the conclusion is traceable rather than asserted.

Write for the decision-maker

Finally, the report has to be readable. The person deciding your application is not an acoustician. A clear summary, plain conclusions and proportionate detail are what move a decision forward.