Owners of office block ‘blighted’ by noise told neighbouring meat packing facility will stay

Grey warehouse building on the right with plant infrastructure alongside it, with a two-storey office building on the other side of a fence.
-Credit: (Image: Google)


The owners of an office block in Huntingdon which they claimed has been “blighted” by noise from a neighbouring building have been told it will stay. Objections had been raised by the Huntingdon Business Centre, in Stukeley Meadows Industrial Estate, about plans to keep in place the conversion of a neighbouring warehouse to a meat packing facility.

It was argued that there was "significant" noise caused by the facility that was preventing some of the neighbouring offices from being rented out. However, Hilton Foods, which had asked for retrospective planning permission to keep the changes it made to one of its warehouses, said it would put in place measures to reduce the noise impact on the neighbouring offices.

The application was considered by Huntingdonshire District Council at a development management committee meeting this week (November 18). Officers said they believed the noise reduction measures proposed by Hilton Foods would lead to acceptable noise levels in the offices next door, when windows were kept closed.

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They added that when the windows were open there could be a “slight breach” of acceptable noise levels. However, officers explained they did not think there would be a “significant adverse impact” on the offices, even with the windows open. They added that the situation would be monitored to make sure the noise was reduced.

Huntingdon Town Council objected to the plans, raising concerns that the noise mitigation proposed would not be enough. Councillor David Landon Cole claimed some of the owners of the neighbouring office building had not been able to rent out some of the offices due to the noise. He argued the noise was “significant” and that the mitigation proposed relied on the office windows being kept shut, but claimed the office needed to be able to open the windows for ventilation.

Representatives of Huntingdon Business Centre said “high levels of noise had blighted” the business over the last three years. They argued the noise levels after the proposed mitigation measures were installed had been “underestimated”. They said they wanted to find a solution to the issues, but added they did not think the current proposals would work.

A representative from Hilton Foods said they had come up with the proposed noise screening in consultation with the district council and planned to spend around £200,000 on noise reduction measures. They added that the company had also offered to pay for triple glazing and sound insulation in the neighbouring offices, but claimed this offer had been rejected.

Councillors considering the application acknowledged the concerns being raised about the noise impact, but said they were reassured by the measures proposed. Councillor Kevin Gulson said he felt Hilton Foods was trying to address the concerns about noise that had been raised. He said if the officers were happy with the proposals they should go along with the plans, but said the council needed to act if the noise reductions were not achieved.

Councillor Tom Sanderson said monitoring of the noise levels after the mitigation measures were installed would be “key” and said the authority would “carefully” monitor it. Councillor Roger Brereton said he was a “bit disappointed” that Hilton Foods' offer of installing noise reduction measures in the neighbouring office building had not been accepted.

Councillor Shariqa Mokbul suggested the committee could defer making a decision to see if there was a way to reduce the noise levels further when the office windows were open. However, the application was ultimately approved by the committee when a decision was put to a vote.

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