“A Quiet Area is not one that is silent, but rather one that is undisturbed by unwanted or harmful outdoor sound created by human activities from any source”
Belfast City Council is supporting the designation of Lagan Meadows as a “quiet zone” as a consultation by Stormont on noise regulations comes to an end.
In response to the questions that the Department for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs has posed within their Lagan Meadows Quiet Area consultation document, namely “Do you agree that Lagan Meadows should be designated as a Quiet Area for the purpose of The Environmental Noise Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2006?” City Hall has replied “yes.”
The council however is asking that the department speaks to Belfast City Airport, as its targets could pose a potential clash of interest with noise level regulations for the city.
Lagan Valley Regional Park, established in 1967, stretches from the Stranmillis area of Belfast City to Lisburn City. It is Northern Ireland’s first and only regional park and covers roughly 4,500 acres, stretching 11 miles along both banks of the River Lagan from Stranmillis to Union Locks in Lisburn. It is owned by Belfast City Council.
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A council report states: “A Quiet Area is not one that is silent, but rather one that is undisturbed by unwanted or harmful outdoor sound created by human activities from any source.”
In its response to the Stormont department, Siobhan Toland Director of City Services at City Hall states: “Belfast City Council notes that the Lagan Valley Regional Park is presently engaged in the implementation of a five year management plan, covering the period 2023 to 2028. Priority themes identified within the management plan include biodiversity, visitors, neighbouring communities, landscape, heritage and health and recreation.
“Belfast City Council therefore recommends that the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs should engage directly with the Lagan Valley Regional Park to ensure that the designation of the Lagan Meadows as a quiet area is appropriately compatible with the park’s five year management plan and the Lagan Valley Regional Park’s stated priority theme of health and recreation.”
It adds: “Belfast City Council additionally notes that George Best Belfast City Airport has recently published a 2040 Masterplan entitled Our Vision for the Future. The airport has indicated that its vision is to deliver growth to seven million passengers per annum by 2040, in a sustainable and responsible way, and that to accommodate the projected growth in passenger numbers will require the number of annual air traffic movements to increase to approximately 61,000; an increase of some 13,000 in the current annual cap of 48,000.
“The Airport Masterplan document states that all growth to 2040 can be delivered within the existing noise contour area limit of 5.2 km2 . Notwithstanding, the George Best Belfast City Airport Annual Performance Report for 2024 highlights that the initial departure route over the city passes close to the Lagan Meadows before turning towards the southeast over Belvoir Park Forest.
“Accordingly, it is recommended that the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs should engage with George Best Belfast City Airport concerning the Airport’s 2040 Masterplan in order to identify and understand any potential implications of the Airport’s air traffic movement and passenger growth proposals upon noise levels within the Lagan Meadows and the designation of the Lagan Meadows as a Quiet Area.”
The Environmental Noise Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2006 aim to put together EU and council provisions into Northern Ireland legislation. END requires periodic noise mapping, the last one in Northern Ireland was conducted 2021.
A council report states: “END additionally requires member states to “preserve environmental noise quality where it is good” through the identification and protection of Quiet Areas within agglomerations, recognising that Quiet Areas can make a beneficial contribution to public health, particularly for people living in noisy city areas.”
At the council committee meeting, SDLP Councillor Séamas de Faoite asked that the council engage with Aldegrove Belfast International Airport. He said: “It has been raised to me increasingly that late-night flights coming into Belfast International Airport are using a flight plan that brings them in over the city, and they tend to be ones that go outside the usual hours of operation. This has become a more increasing occurrence over the summer months.” The committee agreed to his proposal.
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