LETTERS: Need to define `quiet enjoyment'

Sir: The House of Lords has decided to ban motorsports from national parks and to allow their "quiet enjoyment" ("Motorsport fans gear up to fight bans from parks", 4 February). This begs the question, "What is quiet enjoyment?" Already, some hav e argued that this term is almost impossible to define. The decision looks likely to fail in the House of Commons, possibly because it is so ill-defined, and the noise will continue.

Had the Lords instead introduced a maximum noise level to be phased in over a period, the scene would have been set for quiet enjoyment all round. Noise restrictions, based on maximum allowable decibels emitted, have been successfully imposed on airlinesfor many years.

As it is, manufacturers of power boats and motorcycles have no incentive to make their products quiet, and so they are left noisy. The noise rules for jetliners were instrumental in the development of not only quieter, but more fuel-efficient and environmentally cleaner fan-jet engines, benefiting operators and the public alike. Noise rules - on everything from lawn mowers to powerboats - could do the same on the ground.

Yours sincerely, Ole Henriksen Castel, Guernsey 5 February