The Failure of Planning Guidance to Reflect the Impact of Noise on Wildlife

Despite increasing academic research confirming that anthropogenic, or manmade, noise (“noise”) impacts adversely on terrestrial biodiversity, wildlife and ecosystems (“biodiversity”), there is little positive guidance in Scottish planning frameworks, policy and guidance or from NatureScot about the treatment of such noise in planning and other development applications. Such guidance as there is generally relates to the impact of noise on humans, driven the EU Noise directive.

This article reviews recent literature on the impact of noise on biodiversity and then reviews the inadequacy of Scottish planning guidance on such impacts. It then recommends how such guidance should be revised to give a greater weight to the consideration of noise impacts on biodiversity.