Part 2 – Soundscapes.National soundscapes strategy
126.Prior to the passage of this Act, there was no duty on Welsh Ministers to publish a national strategy on soundscapes. However, the Environmental Noise (Wales) Regulations 2006 provide that Welsh Ministers must make and adopt strategic noise maps and must draw up noise action plans, and prescribes what they must contain. The provisions in this Act place a duty on Welsh Ministers to prepare and publish a national strategy on soundscapes which can incorporate the strategic noise maps and noise actions plans required under regulations 7 and 17 of the Environmental Noise (Wales) Regulations 2006.
Section 25 - National strategy on soundscapes
127.Subsection (1) places a duty on Welsh Ministers to prepare and publish a national strategy containing their policies in relation to the assessment, management and design of soundscapes in Wales.
128.Subsection (2) requires the strategy to include policies for assessing and effectively managing noise pollution. In accordance with subsection (3), the Welsh Ministers are required to keep these policies under review. In accordance with subsection (4), the Welsh Ministers may modify the strategy.
129.Subsection (5) requires the Welsh Ministers to review and, if appropriate, modify the strategy within 5 years of the date on which the strategy is first published and, subsequently, within each period of 5 years beginning with the day on which the last review was completed.
130.Subsection (6) provides that the Welsh Ministers, when reviewing or preparing the strategy, must have regard to scientific knowledge relevant to soundscapes and the most recent strategic noise maps adopted under regulation 23 of the Environmental Noise (Wales) Regulations 2006. Subsection (6) also provides that in preparing or reviewing the strategy, the Welsh Ministers must consult with the Natural Resources Body for Wales, every local authority in Wales, every Local Health Board established under section 11 of the National Health Service (Wales) Act 2006, every National Health Service trust established under section 18 of the National Health Service (Wales) Act 2006, every public services board (within the meaning of Part 4 of the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015), the Future Generations Commissioner for Wales, Transport for Wales and the public.
131.Subsection (7) gives the Welsh Ministers the power to amend the review periods referred to in subsection (5).
132.Subsection (8) provides that an existing strategy that fulfils the requirements of subsections (1) and (2) at the time section 25 comes into force can be treated as the strategy prepared and published under subsection (1). In these circumstances, the requirements of subsection (6) do not apply in relation to the preparation of the strategy.
133.Subsection (9) defines local authority for the purposes of this section and section 26 as a county council or county borough council.
Section 26 – Duty to have regard to national strategy on soundscapes
134.Subsection (1) requires local authorities and relevant Welsh public authorities to have regard to the policies in the national strategy on soundscapes published under section 25 when exercising any function of a public nature that could affect soundscapes in Wales.
135.Under subsections (2) and (3), a person is a “relevant Welsh public authority” if they have been designated as such by regulations made by the Welsh Ministers.
136.However, the Welsh Ministers may only designate a person as a “relevant Welsh public authority” if they meet the definition of “devolved Welsh Authority” in section 157A(1)(a) of the Government of Wales Act 2006. This means a person can only be designated if they are a public authority (i) whose functions are exercisable only in relation to Wales, and (ii) are wholly or mainly functions that do not relate to reserved matters. Public authority is defined in section 157(A)(8) of the Government of Wales Act 2006 as “a body, office or holder of an office that has functions of a public nature”.
137.Subsection (4) provides that before making regulations under subsection (3), the Welsh Ministers must consult the person who is proposed to be designated as a “relevant Welsh public authority” and such other persons as the Welsh Ministers consider appropriate.
Section 27 – Power to change cycles for making strategic noise maps and reviewing noise action plans
138.This section enables the Welsh Ministers, by regulations, to change the intervals at which strategic noise maps must be made and adopted under regulation 7(2) of the Environmental Noise (Wales) Regulations 2006 and to change the period within which reviews of noise action plans under regulation 17(3)(b) of those Regulations must take place.
