<b><b>The sound insulation requirements for new homes in England and Wales are set to change as the government revises Part E of the Building Regulations. Ben Roskrow introduces this special supplement on the changes with a look at the proposals</b></b><br><b>Noise disturbance is a big issue today. People no longer want to put up with their &amp;"neighbours from hell&amp;", and they turn to their MPs to sort the problem out. </b><br><b>Little wonder, then, the government has reacted by moving to beef up Building Regulations in this area. It particularly makes sense when you hear housing minister Nick Raynsford's view on this sensitive issue. Speaking to the House Builders Federation's AGM earlier this year, Raynsford said: &amp;"The public are increasingly concerned about this issue (noise). As a constituency MP I frequently have to listen to people telling me about the problems they encounter because of the lack of adequate sound separation between them and their neighbours. Noise and a lack of good noise separation between properties is a real cause of aggro to the public and we would ignore that at our peril. So the measures in Part E are not there simply because we are tinkering for the sake of tinkering. …