Since April 2020, there had been complaints from residents about excessive noise from truck reversing beepers at a commercial potting mix company.
Local council referred the matter to the OPLE in late September 2020.
The OPLE said a resident described the noise as, “too loud, constant, and vibrating throughout their house, between the hours of 6.00 am and 5.00 pm on weekdays, and on Saturdays between 6.00 am and midday”.
The OPLE used Online Geographic Information Systems (GIS) mapping tools to identify and analyse spatial information. The OPLE found the company was only 280 meters from residential zoning.
The OPLE then worked with the company to help understand their processes and provide options for a solution.
The company agreed to complete noise testing using a handheld noise meter. This was to assess noise from the four loaders it uses to move potting mixes, at different points of the property.
As a result, in mid-October the company replaced all the reverse beepers on their trucks with squawker beepers. These deepen or lower the sound while still maintaining safety standards when reversing.
This was a great result for residents who said they could no longer hear the noise from the trucks.
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Reviewed 17 April 2024
