The John Connell Awards 2023 took place at the Palace of Westminster on the evening of 25th October 2023, hosted by Sir Peter Bottomley, Member of Parliament for Worthing West. The awards were presented by Trudy Harrison MP, Under Secretary of State Defra.
The awards are named after NAS’s far-sighted founder John Connell OBE, who lobbied the Noise Abatement Act through Parliament in 1960 when noise became a statutory nuisance in the UK for the first time. These unique annual awards, known as the ‘Noise Oscars’, are now in their 22nd year. They acknowledge the importance of the quality of sound in our lives, and champion vital advances in reducing the negative impact of unnecessary noise for the public benefit. Over 390 recipients from local authorities, industry, organisations and individuals have now been honoured for the significant impact they have made to improve the aural environment.
The Noise Abatement Society (NAS) is a dynamic UK charity whose aim is to share a better understanding of what sound is, how it affects us and how we can solve noise problems in a pragmatic and sustainable way. Its internationally respected work helps to relieve the physical and mental distress caused by excessive noise which profoundly affects health and wellbeing, learning, productivity and social cohesion http://noiseabatementsociety.com/.
John Connell Soundscape Award 2023 sponsored by Anderson Acoustics
This award recognises the advancement of soundscape principles in line with the ISO soundscape standards and their practical ‘real world’ applications. As annual sponsors, we were pleased to hand the trophy to:-
Winner: Welsh Government
Soundscape has not featured in UK legislation, and linkages between laws on noise and air quality have been poor. This devolved Government boldly initiated widening the scope of the proposed Clean Air Act to include airborne noise and soundscape – for the protection of present and future generations. As introduced, the Bill requires their Ministers to produce a national soundscapes strategy with its review cycle aligned with the national air quality strategy and the electoral cycle. Local and relevant public authorities will now have to have regard to the national soundscapes strategy when exercising public functions affecting local and national soundscapes. The Bill process has resulted in greater understanding of soundscape within the Government, puts soundscape on a statutory footing for the first time in the UK and globally, and sets an expectation for evidence-based, transparent and inclusive development of future applied soundscape practices.
For developing “The First UK Bill on Soundscapes”, the John Connell Soundscape Award 2023 Winner is the Welsh Government.
Gloria Elliott OBE, NAS CEO said “Many congratulations to the Welsh Government for pioneering the introduction of soundscapes principles into government legislation to benefit society.”
Photo L-R: Eduardo Manzano (Anderson Acoustics); Olwen Spiller, Eloise Procter and Dr Martin McVay (Welsh Government) with Trudy Harrison MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra)
Highly Commended: Università di Trento, Italy and University College London
Pioneering ISO soundscape standards in national parks, this project brought together global soundscape researchers with musicians, photographers and video makers to document public engagement in critical listening sound walks in the Cairngorms in Scotland and the Italian Dolomites, measuring people’s acoustic perception in-situ. This is essential to enable the management and preservation of treasured environments such as regional and national parks. A Documentary of this project will be shown at the 2024 Trento Film Festival.
For the “Silenzi in Quota – Capturing Soundscapes at High Altitudes” project, the John Connell Soundscape Award 2023 Highly Commended goes to University of Trento, Italy and University College London
Gloria Elliott OBE, NAS CEO said “Congratulations to Università di Trento, Italy and University College London – this is an excellent project to preserve and appreciate sounds in treasured natural areas.”
Photo L-R: Professor Jian Kang (UCL); Giacomo Gozzi (“Silenzi in Quota” Collective); Eduardo Manzano (Anderson Acoustics); Dr Simone Torresin (Università di Trento); Dr Tin Oberman (UCL); and Trudy Harrison MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra)
