Managing Noise Effects from Dairy Factories

Over the last six years we have been involved in the design, consenting, construction and commissioning of a number of large green- and brown-field dairy factory developments. In addition we have assisted in the statutory review process of several Local Territorial Authority District Plans with respect to the management of dairy factory noise. One interesting legal aspect is the handling of "reverse sensitivity" with regard to local communities adjacent to large dairy factory sites. This paper describes the planning framework and rules that have resulted from that work. We explain how we have been able to utilise this detailed understanding of the noise sources of dairy factories into the means to mitigate noise emissions using best practicable options. Large scale dairy factories represent an interesting challenge in terms of noise modelling and control because of both the scale of the fixed plant and the intensity of heavy vehicle traffic involved. We illustrate the issues above with reference to two specific case studies. One is a green field factory in a rural farming area. The other is the major expansion of an existing small factory immediately adjacent to a settlement and nearby town.