What would you do if a client asked you to provide advice on the erection of an acoustic fence to a residential project you’re involved in near a motorway?

Advice on the erection of acoustic fencing is not something that a Landscape Architect is capable of providing and should be avoided, by suggesting the appointment of a capable acoustic engineer. It would then be their duty to conduct a detailed survey and possibly create a model taking all the above factors into account. As a result, they (and not the Landscape Architect) should be able to advise on the appropriate location and specification of such a fence.

Standard 6 of the Code of Conduct relates to this behaviour:

Landscape Professionals should only undertake professional work for which they are able to provide proper professional and technical competence, and resources.

Noise assessment surveys relevant to the erection of acoustic fences/barriers very much depend on the site specifics. Different roads will generate different levels of noise and different sections of even the same road (the M6 for example) will generate different noise levels dependent on amount of traffic, speed, road surface, etc. Added to this is the fact that the relative height difference between the road and the site will have an impact on the noise levels in the site and how high any acoustic mitigation will need to be.

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