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.
