Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the level of road noise (a) in the London Borough of Havering and (b) around the Romford Ring Road.

HM Government is committed to ensuring that noise is managed effectively to promote good health and minimise disruption to people's quality of life.

My department is required to produce strategic noise maps and subsequent action planning for transport noise, including noise from road sources, under the terms of the Environmental Noise (England) Regulations 2006, every five years to help manage noise.

The Regulations also require that Noise Action Plans for roads identify Important Areas, where the 1% of the population affected by the highest noise levels is located. This approach has been taken in order to target mitigation efforts towards those at greatest risk of experiencing a significant adverse impact to health and quality of life as a result of their exposure to noise.

The latest Noise Action Plan for roads was published in 2019 and is available at: Noise Action Plan (2019): Roads (publishing.service.GOV.UK). It shows a number of Important Areas around Romford including Rush Green; Chadwell Heath; Elm Park; and the Romford Ring Road that should be prioritised for investigation and, where appropriate, mitigation action by the highways authorities. The Noise Action Plan for roads will be updated following the next Round of mapping which is due to be completed in 2023.