BBC London 3 Feb 07
Newcastle is the noisiest urban area in England, with residents facing severe hearing and health problems, according to a new report.
The North East city topped a traffic noise table with 80.4 decibels, said to be the equivalent of a loud alarm clock constantly ringing in a person's ear.
Tranquil Torquay emerged as the quietest of the 41 towns and cities surveyed, at just 60 decibels.
Other noisy neighbourhoods included Birmingham, London and Darlington.
Some relatively small towns, such as Darlington, Doncaster and Gillingham, proved to be louder than major metropolitan cities including Leeds, Manchester, Liverpool, Sheffield and Nottingham.
The report, compiled by the EarInstitute at the University College London, and Widex, a Danish hearing aid manufacturer, looked at traffic noise in the towns and cities across England during rush hour periods. Measurements were taken in October and November in a variety of locations in each town and city, at sites where people came into close proximity with traffic.
Noisiest
1 Newcastle - 80.4 decibels
2 Birmingham - 79.1 decibels
3 London - 78.5 decibels
4 Darlington - 78.3 decibels
= Doncaster - 78.3 decibels
Quietest
1 Torquay - 60.2 decibels
2 Paignton - 65.7 decibels
3 Scunthorpe - 66.4 decibels
4 Folkestone - 66.8 decibels
5 Colchester - 68.1 decibels
Full article: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/6320799.stm>
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