Wairau/ Awatere Resource Management Plan • Disturbance with relaxation; and • Reduction of amenity values. 22.3 Objectives and Policies Objective 1 Protection of individual and community health, environmental and amenity values from disturbance, disruption or interference by noise. Policy 1.1 Avoid, remedy or mitigate community disturbance, disruption or interference by noise within coastal, rural and urban areas. Policy 1.2 Include techniques to avoid the emission of excessive or unreasonable noises within the design of any proposal for the development or use of resources. Policy 1.3 Accommodate inherently noisy activities and processes which are ancillary to normal activities within industrial and rural areas. Policy 1.4 Avoid, remedy or mitigate the adverse effects of noise caused by vehicle movement by implementing a roading hierarchy. Policy 1.5 Avoid, remedy or mitigate the adverse effects of noise caused by the use of audible bird-scanning devices on: • Public health and safety; and • Amenity values. Residential areas have noise levels that create an amenity value conducive to rest, relaxation and sleep. Commercial and industrial areas have amenity values which are noisier than residential areas but still require limitations on excessive or unreasonable noise. The noise from some processes in industrial areas cannot be avoided. Transport corridors are known and expected to be subject to higher noise levels than some other areas. The segregation of noise sensitive activities from such corridors and appropriate acoustic treatment of buildings or places where such activities occur are practicable ways of avoiding, remedying or mitigating noise effects. Notwithstanding existing use practices, the noise generated from these activities is still subject to the obligations imposed under Section 16 of the Act, which requires occupiers of land to adopt the best practicable option to ensure that the emission of noise from land does not exceed a reasonable level. Rural areas are often perceived to be quiet, tranquil places - but this is not always true. Many rural activities involve noisy mobile equipment and machinery with some special audible characteristics of that noise (eg; birdscaring). People living in rural areas have to accept, as part of their lifestyle, reasonable noise that is generated by legitimate rural activities, including that generated by animals. Although there is a duty under Section 17 of the Act to avoid, remedy or mitigate any adverse effects, the Council recognises that the principle rural activities inherently involve effects that may not meet the expectations of an urban environment. These urban activities at the rural/urban interface must expect to compromise their urban 22 - 2