Free guidance on construction noise in the UK: your rights, how to complain, how to log evidence, and what good noise control looks like.
Construction Noise Assistant is a free guide for people living and working next to construction, demolition, piling and roadworks sites across the UK. It exists because most residents only discover how noise is regulated after the drilling has started, and by then the useful window for gathering good evidence and asking the right questions has often already begun to close.
The site brings together four things in one place: a plain-English explanation of your rights under UK environmental and planning law; a step-by-step route through the complaint process, including who to contact and what to put in writing; practical tools for logging incidents and recording evidence as they happen; and a description of what good noise control actually looks like on a well-run site, so you can tell the difference between normal working and something that needs challenging.
Residents come first. Whether you are next to a single house extension or a multi-year infrastructure project, the guidance here is written for the person at the kitchen table with a phone in one hand, not for a specialist. Everything is free to use and nothing is gated behind an account.
Contractors and site teams are welcome too. A large share of the complaints we hear about could be avoided with earlier notification, better-placed equipment and a genuine willingness to talk to neighbours. Contractors who want fewer complaints, calmer relationships with the local authority and a clearer audit trail will find the same material useful from the other side of the fence.
Every article is researched from primary UK sources: the legislation and statutory nuisance regime itself, British Standards such as BS 5228 on noise and vibration control on construction and open sites, local authority guidance and published research. Where an article relies on an external source, the source is listed at the end of the article so you can read it yourself and check our reasoning.
This site provides general guidance only. It is not legal advice, and it is no substitute for advice from a solicitor, your council’s Environmental Health team or another qualified professional familiar with the facts of your case.
Construction Noise Assistant is supported by Hushtec Ltd, a UK manufacturer of temporary acoustic barriers, with products made in Wakefield, West Yorkshire. That support is what keeps the site free to use.
We think you should be able to see where our interests lie. Articles that focus on a Hushtec product are published in the Product Focus category, and every article that mentions Hushtec carries a disclosure line saying the site is supported by Hushtec. News and guidance articles are written to inform, not to sell.