A recent survey of Mancunians has found that high levels of surrounding external noise is the factor most likely to put them off buying or renting a particular property.
Polling across Greater Manchester’s ten districts commissioned by ROCKWOOL, the UK’s leading manufacturer of stone wool insulation, highlighted significant concerns among residents about the negative impact of noise pollution. When asked what would put them off a home purchase or rental, more than two-thirds (67%) cited noisy neighbours and 64% said persistent levels of high noise.
People are increasingly aware of the detrimental impacts of noise on their mental and physical wellbeing. More than half said they were concerned about increased stress (57%), anxiety (54%) and depression (51%) as a result of noise pollution.
Physical impacts were also raised with almost half (49%) concerned about high blood pressure, while nearly two in five were concerned about heart disease (39%) and strokes (37%).
David Ward, Public Affairs and Policy Advisor, ROCKWOOL UK said:
“A well designed home, built with high quality materials, is fundamental to quality of life in so many ways. Noise is often a deciding factor when people choose where to live, so it affects those who don’t have much choice to an even greater degree.
“When councils are investing in healthy homes they’re investing in healthy communities. A healthier home can truly improve people’s lives, bring their bills down and save the NHS money in the long run. That’s why getting the insulation, materials, and design choices of a house right can be so important for improving people’s quality of life, reducing not only noise pollution but also alleviating issues like fuel poverty.”
Looking at Greater Manchester’s boroughs, the areas of Wigan and Bury appear to be particularly suffering from noise pollution. Over 90% of residents in both boroughs cited noisy neighbours and persistent levels of high noise as reasons to not buy or rent a certain property. Just over half (51%) of residents in Bury have already invested in home changes such as insulation or double glazing.
Many residents have taken action to address noise issues. Over half (55%) of Manchester residents have, or have considered, investing in changes to minimise noise infiltration to their home, such as external wall insulation, while one-fifth (19%) have considered leaving their property and moving further out of the city centre.
Manchester’s residents are calling for more action from the relevant authorities, such as the Combined Authority or their local council. Less than half (48%) believe their local representatives are sufficiently concerned about the issue of noise and would like to see more done to mitigate the impact of noise.
ROCKWOOL is also calling for more investment in solutions that can reduce the effect of noise pollution, especially in public sector housing, including assessing the house design and planning process to make sure a building’s fabric is a key component of new-build housing whilst also examining the positive impact of solutions such as insulation and double-glazing windows in retrofit work.
Citing further evidence showing the negative impact noise pollution has on everyday lives, the World Health Organisation has found that at least one million healthy life years are lost every year in Western Europe as a result of exposure to environmental noise, making it the second largest environmental cause of ill health, after air pollution.[1] [2] Studies have shown that exposure to unwanted noise can contribute to sleep disturbance, hypertension, and an increased risk of diabetes, dementia, stroke and heart disease.[3] [4]
References:
[1] Burden of disease from environmental noise, World Health Organisation, 2011
[2] State of the environment: health, people, and the environment, Environment Agency, 8 Sept 2020
[3] Noise impacts on health, Science for Environment Policy, January 2015
[4] Environmental Noise Guidelines for the European Region, World Health Organisation, 2018