SWAN councillors have voted for the city to undertake before and after acoustic measurements of the freight train noise in the areas where the Movida acoustic wall has not yet been built.

At their ordinary November meeting councillors voted unanimously for an alternate motion put forward by deputy mayor and Midland Guildford ward councillor Ian Johnson, who said the Swan View Noise Wall Action Group believed that before and after acoustic measurements would be the best way to demonstrate the impact of the noise wall.

Cr Johnson said the action group believed the existing acoustic report did not reflect their lived experience of the increasing freight rail noise as that report was based on comparison of model noise before the wall was built and actual acoustic measurements after the wall was built.

His alternate motion removed part of a motion in the officer’s report on the item recommending not undertaking additional noise measurements of the type requested by the action group with the report noting the measurements had already been undertaken by an independent acoustic consultant.

The officer’s report said in Western Australia noise was controlled by the Environmental Protection (Noise) Regulations 1997.

“These regulations do not apply to noise emission from trains,’’ the report said.

“This prohibits the city from enforcing any requirements on another entity in relation to any noise from trains.’’

State planning policy 5.4 – road and rail provides guidance on the requirements for noise walls around new subdivisions or major infrastructure.

“But as the rail and residences to the east of the Movida estate are existing, this policy does not apply,’’ the report said.

Freight train noise wall failure reported Swan View and Stratton residents saying the noise from freight trains, which never used to bother them, had become unbearable since the construction of the noise wall.

Previously the City of Swan has said the noise wall met the requirements placed on the developer by the Western Australian Planning Commission (WAPC) but that it had provided a copy of the consultant’s reports to the WAPC along with a request to consider the inclusion of a requirement to consider reflected noise into state planning policy at their next review of the policy.

The city said in discussions with officers at the Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage staff they confirmed that they could include recommendations to the WAPC to address reflective noise, but only where the impact of the reflective noise could be justified through an acoustics report.