Johnson Close, one of London’s quietest streets. Pic: Google Maps
Two streets in the EastLondonLines boroughs have been selected as the best in London to get a good night’s sleep, according to a new study released by acoustic consultancy firm 24 Acoustics.
Fossil Road in Lewisham and Johnson Close in Hackney were selected alongside eight other roads in the capital that have the most tranquil night-time noise levels.
The list, which was commissioned by Selfridges’ London Bed Company, was carried out by 24 Acoustics, a multi-disciplinary acoustic consultancy who used precision instruments to measure noise levels between 11pm and 7am.
The assessment combined the original London road noise map published in 2003 and 24 Acoustics’ newly measured data.
Steve Gosling spokesmen for Acoustic 24 explained the process: “We selected the quiet locations initially on those areas outside the 57 decibels noise exposure contours for Heathrow and London Airport. The next step was to filter out noisy roads using the London Noise Map which shows night-time data for noise arising from road traffic.”
“Finally, certain locations were shortlisted using a database of measured night-time noise levels obtained using precision measuring instrumentation. The findings showed that there are some tucked-away locations in Central London which are surprisingly quiet.”
Speaking to residents of the shortlisted Fossil Street in the Brockley area of Lewisham, a number were not surprised at the decision.
Michael Parsons who moved to Fossil Street 5 months ago said: “It is really quiet, since moving here we have found it a really peaceful place to live.”
Maggie McVitie who has lived on the Fossil Road for 16 years said: “It is a really quiet nice place to live. In the morning from nine to ten you can hear a pin drop it is that peaceful.”
Eleanor Rose, a Hackney resident who lived on Johnson Close for three years until 2012 said: “Yes it was a surprisingly quiet street. I know people don’t normally associate Hackney as a peaceful place but when I lived there I rarely heard police sirens or drunkards unlike some of the other Hackney roads I’ve lived on.”
The full list of the quietest streets in London, courtesy of 24 Acoustics:
Barnsbury Square (N1) — Islington
Burton Mews (SW1) — Kensington and Chelsea
Fossil Road (SE13) — Lewisham
Gilstead Road (SW6) — Hammersmith and Fulham
Greenaway Gardens (NW3) — Camden
Hamilton Gardens (NW8) — Westminster
Johnson Close (E8) — Hackney
Peckham Grove (SE1) — Southwark
Sabine Road (SW11) — Wandsworth
St Margaret’s Crescent (SW15) — Putney
