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Press release - 1 January 2008
From 1st January 2008, established Home Counties acoustics consultancy firm, Bird Acoustics joins Hepworth Acoustics. .
1 January 2008: At the start of this year, Home Counties acoustics consultancy Bird Acoustics joined forces with established acoustics consultancy Hepworth Acoustics to become Hepworth Bird Acoustics.
The two companies had a lot in common in terms of the services they offered and the high quality of work performed. Now, with the amalgamation, Hepworth Bird Acoustics is added to the geographical coverage of the existing Hepworth Acoustics offices stretching from Ashford in the South up to Tyne and Wear in the North, from Bristol in the West through to Castle Donington in the East Midlands.
Says Peter Bird, “We are really excited and enthusiastic about this new venture. We see it as a way forward, not just for ourselves, but for our present customers, offering them an even wider range of services than they have had available up until now.”
Comments Hepworth Acoustics MD Peter Hepworth, “I have known Peter and Sue Bird for a number of years and I am very pleased that they have chosen to join Hepworth Acoustics. I am looking forward to working with them and the contribution that they will make to the growth of the company." Download (PDF, 52 Kb)
Press release - 2 July 2007
The final report on a significant project which has been on-going since 2004 is now available. In 2004, Hepworth Acoustics was appointed by Defra to provide a fully up-to-date database of the noise produced by construction-type plant. The first part of the database was published in 2005. Now the final phase, relating to plant used in quarries, has been published.
July 2007: Noise data for construction-type plant used on construction and open sites has until recently relied on data that was either gathered in the 1970s or is provided by equipment manufacturers. In 2004 Defra commissioned Hepworth Acoustics to produce a database of noise emissions that was based on actual measurements from the plant in use. The first part of the database, relating to construction, demolition, opencast coal sites and waste disposal sites was published in 2005 and can be viewed by clicking here (External).
The final phase of the project encompasses quarries. The report has recently been published by Defra and can be viewed by clicking here (External).
The central objective of the Construction Plant Noise Database is to provide accurate source data to enable operators of open sites, quarries and landfill operations to evaluate the potential impact of noise from the proposed operations. The noise data is suitable for use with BS5228 but reflects current practice and plant. To complete Phase 3, Hepworth Acoustics carried out surveys of quarries in Cheshire, Derbyshire and North Wales. Approximately 300 individual measurements of plant noise were taken and the results are presented as un-weighted octave band sound pressure levels together with A-weighted activity sound pressure levels.
“The value of the study lies in the fact that where it is not practical to measure noise levels from the exact type of plant being used, this database can provide greater accuracy than relying on ‘type test’ noise emission data from manufacturers,” explains Peter Hepworth of Hepworth Acoustics. “It helps operators to evaluate the potential noise impact of their sites with more accurate data, thus enabling them to take appropriate steps to mitigate the impact and assisting their use of BS5228.” Download (PDF, 72 Kb)
Press release - 8 June 2007 lumiere
Hepworth Acoustics has recently been appointed, as a member of a consortium of four firms, to provide noise maps of Northern Ireland in fulfilment of the EU’s Environmental Noise Directive.
June 2007: The Northern Ireland Department of the Environment has appointed a consortium of four firms to provide noise maps to deal with road, rail, aircraft and industrial noise across the whole region. The team is led by iSoniq and includes independent acoustics consultant Hepworth Acoustics, leading Irish environmental firm AWN Consulting and Bureau Veritas. The completed project will fulfil Northern Ireland’s requirements for noise maps to meet the EU’s Environmental Noise Directive.
“This is an exciting project because its outcome is fulfilment of the first stage of the EU Environmental Noise Directive for the whole of Northern Ireland,” says Simon Shilton of iSoniq. “That is a major achievement and we are very pleased to have pulled together a successful team, working with partners we know and trust.”
Because of the large scale of the project, which is valued at around half a million pounds, tenders were invited under the OJEC procurement process. The iSoniq-led consortium won the contract in competition with eight other tenders.
The project will produce noise maps focused on the urban conurbation of Belfast and other major noise sources. The maps will include major roads, the airports - Belfast International Airport and George Best Belfast City Airport, major railways and industrial sites. The project’s phases are data gathering, site surveys, followed by the noise calculations, production of the final noise maps and preparation of the analysis for submission to the EU Commission. Delivery is scheduled for June 2007. Download (PDF, 92 Kb)
Press release - 5 June 2007 lumiere
Hepworth Acoustics continues to expand, with new offices opening in the East Midlands, and a new consultant being appointed to head up the company’s Bristol Office
June 2007: Hepworth Acoustics is continuing its policy of expanding its network of offices with a new opening in East Midlands plus the key appointment of Graham Bowland at its Bristol office.
Peter Hepworth, managing director of Hepworth Acoustics, adds: “East Midlands is our seventh regional office and there are more in the pipeline, ensuring that we provide our clients with a tight network of offices around the UK. In Bristol, bringing Graham on board adds breadth to our professional services in the region and ensures that our clients, potential and existing, are fully supported.”
New office in Castle Donnington The East Midlands region is now serviced by a Hepworth Acoustics office in Castle Donnington, which is headed up by Principal Consultant Richard Housley. The office will provide consultancy on all aspects of environmental and building acoustics.
Graham Bowland for Bristol operation Hepworth Acoustics is developing its client base in South West England and Wales with the appointment of acoustics specialist Graham Bowland to head up the firm’s regional office in Bristol, which opened last year. He joins the firm from WSP Group, where he handled planning assessments and building acoustics, especially in educational and public buildings.
“Hepworth has built up an impressive client base since it established the office and there are opportunities to expand on this,” says Graham Bowland. “My experience is complementary to the firm’s portfolio of acoustic consultancy services and I look forward to making a significant impact on our business in the South West and Wales.” Download (PDF, 97 Kb)
Press release - 4 May 2007 lumiere
Acoustics for Leeds’ Lumière Building, one of Europe’s tallest, to be handled by Hepworth Acoustics
May 2007: The Lumière Building in Leeds, one of Europe’s tallest residential buildings, is to benefit from acoustic consultancy services from leading independent firm Hepworth Acoustics. Developer K W Linfoot has appointed Hepworth, after working with them on a number of previous projects, to handle acoustic services for the building including design, supervising construction and insulation testing.
Ged Feeley, commercial director of K W Linfoot, explains why they chose Hepworth Acoustics: “Lumière is to become one of the city’s most desirable addresses and its combination of residential and commercial space means that the acoustic design has to be first class and well planned.” “We are going with Hepworth Acoustics because we need to work with a firm that fully understands this, is comfortable operating at such a large scale and can ensure the building meets all of the acoustic design criteria throughout.”
Lumière, set for completion in 2010, comprises two towers, one 54 storeys, one 31 storeys, and will combine prime residential living spaces with high quality retail, commercial space and a healthcare centre. Tower 1 includes 110 properties aimed at the over 55’s plus a selection of apartments and studios with penthouse office space on the top floors. Tower II will provide further extensive retail space, sitting under eleven floors of state-of-the-art office space and 240 apartments. There will also be more than 10,000 sq ft of public space in the form of a winter garden adjacent to a central piazza. Download (PDF, 88 Kb)
Press release - 23 March 2007
Hepworth Acoustics funds scholarship in MSc Environmental Acoustics at University of Salford
Independent acoustics consultancy Hepworth Acoustics is funding a full fees scholarship for study on the MSc Environmental Acoustics, a new course offered by the University of Salford. The scholarship, worth £3,700, is for the 2007/2008 academic year, and applications are currently being invited.
Peter Hepworth, managing director of Hepworth Acoustics explains the firm’s motivation for funding the scholarship: “Ours is a rapidly growing sector and there’s a great need to ensure we produce the acoustics professionals of tomorrow. As an expanding business, graduates are Hepworth Acoustics’ main resource, so it’s very important that they come to us with a solid academic background. The MSc Environmental Acoustics at Salford is particularly suitable and if by providing this scholarship we can encourage more students to take up study in acoustics, it will help to increase the pool of potential consultants for the future.”
The MSc Environmental Acoustics is offered within the University’s Acoustics Audio and Video Discipline, which has been running degree courses in acoustics for more than thirty years. The course provides graduates with specialist skills and knowledge to work in the field, whether in consultancy, government or in research. Course tutor Dr Andy Moorhouse comments: “There is currently a skills shortage in acoustics, so graduates successfully completing this course will be in a very strong position in the jobs market. We’re delighted that Hepworth Acoustics values the course so highly and we’re very appreciative of their funding for this extra place.” Download (PDF, 88 Kb)
Full information on the MSc Environmental Acoustics Link (External)
Press release - 21 December 2006
Noise prediction stays on track
Hepworth helps Europe quantify the accuracy of railway noise
predictions
Defra has appointed Hepworth Acoustics for
a project that will help noise assessment professionals more
accurately calculate the environmental impact of railway
noise. The assignment is to re-examine and assess the impact
on accuracy of predictions of the data and methodologies
laid out in the WG-AEN's Good Practice Guide for Strategic
Noise Mapping, version 2 of which was published in January
2006. The end result will be recommendations that quantify
the impact on accuracy of assumptions made when producing
noise maps for railway noise. These recommendations could
be used in a future version of The Good Practice Guide.
The work for the European Union Working Group is being funded
by Defra.
Noise prediction is a practice that is constantly
developing and this project makes a close examination of
the options in The Good Practice Guide to quantify the level
of accuracy that will be achieved where assumptions have
to be made, explains Peter Hepworth, managing director of
Hepworth Acoustics. This is a follow up to a similar project
we completed last year on road traffic noise and we are delighted
to be working for Defra again with a similar team. The
Good Practice Guide is an excellent source of reference for
noise professionals and projects such as this one help it
to maintain its relevancy and ensure that it provides data
to allow informed choices.
The WG-AEN's Good Practice Guide for Strategic
Noise Mapping and the Production of Associated Data on Noise
Exposure contains guidelines, procedures and assumptions
that can be used when limited data are available for producing
noise maps. Predicting environmental noise impact within
a large geographical area requires a huge amount of data
and there are inevitably data shortages. The Guide offers
advice and information to help practitioners choose options
when data is lacking. This project will quantify the impact
on accuracy of the different options available.
Hepworth Acoustics is lead contractor in this latest project,
working in consortium with UK noise consultant Acustica,
Dutch consulting engineer DGMR, and the railway technology
adviser Delta Rail. The project is due for completion next
March and follows on from a similar analysis on road traffic
noise made last year. Download (PDF,
12 Kb)
Press release - 3 March 2006
Noise Mapping England Project:
Entec UK and Hepworth Acoustics team deliver first “Noise Mapping England” maps for Defra
Environmental consultancy Entec UK and noise consultant Hepworth Acoustics have combined to deliver completed road noise maps to Defra under the Noise Mapping England project. The two maps cover the Manchester and Merseyside conurbations, a total area of 2,000km2, as part of a series of 15 contracts Defra has commissioned to cover over 20 major towns, cities and regions in England.
The key aim of the Defra Noise Mapping England Project (www.noisemapping.org) is to gather information on the ambient noise climate in England. In simple terms, this means determining the number of people affected by different levels of ambient noise, the source of the noise (i.e. road, rail, air and industry) and the locations of the people affected. The project is calculating noise levels and producing noise maps across England to determine noise exposure data, identify relatively quiet areas and noise 'hotspots' and provide information to assess the relationship between noise and other policy areas. This information will be used to gain knowledge which will assist in the implementation of the Environmental Noise Directive, e.g. on the location, acquisition and accuracy of input data.
Within the project, Entec and Hepworth Acoustics have undertaken a series of project tasks, including a detailed field-survey of noise barriers across the two areas; GIS processing and analysis of detailed terrain, buildings and traffic survey datasets; and development of detailed resolution noise models. Due to the large geographical area and detailed resolution required, the project team used specialist Lima noise mapping (produced by German firm Stapelfeldt) and ArcGIS software. In total, more than seven million calculation points were calculated at a horizontal grid resolution of 10m, resulting in highly detailed maps for the two contract areas. These outputs have recently been delivered to Defra together with technical reports describing the processing steps undertaken and modelling techniques adopted. Download (PDF, 16Kb)
Press release - 19 January 2006
Bristol office makes Hepworth a South West and Wales local
Leading UK noise consultants Hepworth Acoustics continues its expansion programme as the doors of its new Bristol office open today.
“Opening in Bristol gives us a local base to service the South West of England and South Wales,” says managing director Peter Hepworth. “This is a diverse area that includes large conurbations, industrial areas and seaports, all with major road and rail links, so the issue of environmental noise is an important one. Our clients in this area, which range from commercial enterprises to government bodies, are already welcoming the new office and we are looking forward to further expansion in the region.”
The office will initially be managed by Hepworth senior consultant Richard Watson and is situated at 1st Floor, Aztec Centre, Aztec West, Almondsbury, Bristol, BS32 4TD. The office has been opened following the acquisition by Hepworth Acoustics of the goodwill of Woodward Acoustics as a result of the retirement of Martin Woodward. Bristol joins the Hepworth Acoustics national network, which now also includes Warrington, Sheffield, Birmingham, London and Ashford. Download (PDF, 28Kb)
Press release - 9 January 2006
Make sure to include noise impact in late hours applications
Noise consultant Hepworth Acoustics is advising operators applying for late opening licenses to ensure that they factor in the impact of noise on local residents when they first submit their applications.
Since later opening hours have been introduced under the new licensing regulations Hepworth Acoustics has seen a marked increase in the number of licensing appeals it is involved with. This is arising because applications are being rejected due to of the lack of detailed information about the potential noise impact for local residents. "Noise impact is a major factor in whether a late opening application is successful and this increase in the number of appeals suggests that it will save time, money and effort if premises include a noise impact study with their application in the first place," says Peter Hepworth, managing director.
Assessing noise impact at different times of the evening is carried out using an objective process. Hepworth Acoustics measures the noise levels at the usual closing time and then continues the measurement until the proposed closing hour, always measuring from the nearest residential property. If the measurements indicate a potential increase in the noise impact, the appeal report will include information on how it will be minimised.
“We would normally handle about 5 or 6 appeals cases in a year, but we already have 12 lined up in the New Year and there's no sign of the work diminishing,” explains Hepworth. “Many of these could be avoided if noise impact was assessed at the outset.” Download (PDF, 28Kb)
Press release - 4 January 2006
Ringing in the new
Hepworth Acoustics celebrates the end of a highly successful year by launching a new image, which can be seen throughout the firm’s company literature, but most markedly in its re-designed and re-christened company newsletter, superSONIC, and comprehensive new website, well worth the visit at www.hepworth-acoustics.co.uk.
Over the past year Hepworth Acoustics has opened new offices in Birmingham and London, has taken on a number of highly-qualified new staff, strengthening both its consultancy and noise-mapping teams, and has won numerous new contracts, including three major noise-mapping projects under the Noise Mapping England initiatives. Also founder Peter Hepworth was elected as the new chairman of the Association of Noise Consultants.
This glowing year for Hepworth Acoustics is reflected in the clarity, effectiveness and elegance of the new branding. A company to watch over the coming months, and, given its attractive new appearance, it will be a real pleasure to do so. Download (PDF, 24Kb)
Press release - October 2005
On the map
Hepworth Acoustics are making their mark in more ways than one this month. Not only have they opened a new and improved London office under the direction of the highly experienced Duncan Newhall, but they have also increased the scope and expertise of their already formidable noise-mapping team through the appointments of computational acoustician and software developer Vincent Hii Jiu Ta and of GIS specialist Nathan Archer.
Duncan Newhall, who is heading up Hepworth’s London office, comes from a strong environmental acoustics and building acoustics background, and has also worked as specialist technical officer for two local authorities. Duncan is looking forward to making Hepworth’s wide range of skills and expertise even more directly available to businesses and local authorities in the London area.
In Warrington, the noise-mapping arm of Hepworth Acoustics is strengthened even more by the addition of Vincent Hii Jiu Ta and Nathan Archer. Vincent, who has been working in the acoustics industry for two years, has just finished a doctorate in computational acoustics, while Nathan has, in his own words, ‘a passion for GIS systems’. They join a vibrant team already acknowledged as the UK’s number 1 independent noise-mapping consultancy.
Press release - July 2005
A growth spurt for Hepworth Acoustics
Hepworth Acoustics Ltd. are at it again – expanding, that is – with a new office in Birmingham, and two top-class graduate recruits swelling the numbers at Head Office in Warrington.
As part of the planned expansion of the company, a new office in Birmingham has been established to cope with increased demand for Hepworth’s services throughout the Midlands. It is headed up by Principal Consultant Peter Pirozek. Peter comes from an established acoustics consultancy background in Australia, with experience in a wide range of consultancy work, and is looking forward to consolidating and developing the company’s presence in and around Birmingham.
There is growth at Hepworth Acoustics in Warrington as well, with two new recruits from Salford University joining the Head Office team. James Trow and Charlotte Willis, who both graduated with first-class degrees, will be working in different divisions of the company.
Charlotte is headed for the Consultancy Division, where she will be carrying out a wide range of survey and assessment work for new development projects. James, who spent a year with the company for his industrial experience, joins the Software and Noise Mapping Division, where he will be working on a number of noise mapping and research contracts recently won by the Hepworth Acoustics.
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