North Yorkshire
Acoustic consultants in York.
A historic core where the usual acoustic answers, better glazing and a new facade, are frequently not available.
The local picture
What we deal with in York.
York's constraint is heritage. A large part of the city centre is conservation area, and a great many buildings are listed, which restricts what can be done externally. When a facade cannot be altered, the acoustic solution moves inward: secondary glazing, ventilation strategy, room layout and internal treatment. Assessments here have to be written knowing that the standard mitigation is off the table.
The East Coast Main Line runs through the city and rail is a significant source for development along that corridor. Rail noise is dominated by individual pass-by events rather than a steady level, so a maximum level criterion for bedrooms usually governs the design rather than the LAeq figure alone.
City of York Council is a unitary authority determining applications across the city. Its licensed premises and visitor economy also generate a steady flow of entertainment noise work where residential sits above or beside a venue.
Typical instructions
Work that comes up here.
Taken from the job book rather than a service list. If yours is not on it, it is still likely to be routine. Send the wording and we will say so.
- Noise assessments for conversion of listed and historic buildings
- Rail noise assessment along the East Coast Main Line corridor
- Secondary glazing and ventilation strategies where facades cannot be altered
- Entertainment noise assessment for licensed premises
- Sound insulation testing on conversions to residential
Local detail
We read your checklist before we price it.
Validation requirements vary between authorities and between applications. We read the one for yours before quoting, so the scope matches what is being asked for rather than what is usually asked for.
- Determined byCity of York Council
- CountyNorth Yorkshire
- Getting to siteAround two hours from Manchester; usually an overnight deployment.
- InstrumentationClass 1, calibrated and certificated
- Fee basisFixed, agreed before we start
- Report turnaroundFive working days from survey
Travel is our problem, not yours. Most surveys use unattended monitoring, so the distance to site affects our costs rather than your programme, and the fee is fixed either way.
What you can instruct
Services available in York.
Noise Surveys
Baseline and environmental monitoring, attended or unattended.
Learn moreNoise Impact Assessments
BS 4142, BS 8233 and ProPG assessments that planning officers accept.
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Plant Noise
ASHPs, chillers, kitchen extract and refrigeration, assessed against background.
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Expert Witness & Appeals
Independent acoustic evidence for planning appeals, hearings, inquiries and litigation, written to be relied on.
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Healthcare Acoustics
Hospitals, clinics and care settings to HTM 08-01: speech privacy, ward noise and the plant that runs all night.
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Hotels & Hospitality
Bedrooms that stay quiet next to bars, kitchens, lifts and gyms. Design, testing and the plant on the roof.
Learn moreQuestions
York: common questions.
What if the building is listed and we cannot change the windows?
Then the assessment has to work with what can be changed: secondary glazing behind the original, the ventilation route, room layout and internal absorption. It is more involved than specifying a glazing unit, which is why it is worth doing at design stage.
How is railway noise assessed differently?
Rail is dominated by individual pass-bys rather than a steady level, so alongside the BS 8233 LAeq targets a maximum level criterion for bedrooms at night normally governs. A scheme can meet the average and still wake people up.
Working on something in York?
Send a postcode and a sentence. We're ready to price it right now.