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24
Sept
'Thumping noise' from Harrogate music festival ‘disgracefully intruded’ on houses, says resident
A Harrogate resident, who lives near the Oatlands Drive section of the Stray, has raised concerns about the level of noise associated with this month's Love to Be Festival.
The Park Parade resident, who wished to remain anonymous, complained about the impact of "thumping music and amplified shouting" during the event on the Stray.
The house music festival saw thousands of people descend on the town, who turned back time to the 1980s and '90s, enjoying the biggest dance songs of the decades.
The resident, who claimed the noise continued for 11 hours, said his house was shaking as a result. He questioned why nearby homes must be “so appalling affected” by such events and pointed the finger at North Yorkshire Council.
The resident added:
My understanding is that the council apply noise guidelines and have a report, which they refuse to provide to me on confidentiality grounds even though it can be redacted.
What the council have failed to take into account is the fact that there was a booming and vibrating bass sound that crossed over open space and disgracefully intruded on properties first in line, such as those on Park Parade.
Our house was vibrating with the nuisance, which was continual from noon until 11pm. There was simply no let up.
The resident claimed the council, which leased the use of the Stray to Love to Be, did not consider the impact on residents enough.
He told the Stray Ferret only residents within 250 metres of the event were notified, and although the authority did some spot check monitoring the noise level was “totally unacceptable”.
He said:
There needs to be consideration of types of noise and nuisance, other sound levels from these events.
We are not usually troubled by Stray events, as the noise varies and comes and goes. That was not the case with the Love to Be festival. It was pounding and vibrating bass noise for 11 continual hours with absolutely no let up.
When considering events, they have to consider more than simply noise guidelines, but have to account for topography and residents. The noise was truly appalling and totally unacceptable.
Council response
The Stray Ferret put the resident’s concerns to North Yorkshire Council and asked what assessment was taken to reduce noise disruption.
Karl Battersby, the council's corporate director of environment, said:
The Love to Be festival is always well-attended, and events like this provide a huge boost to Harrogate’s visitor economy.
When hosting events across North Yorkshire, the impact on residents is our key consideration when trying to ensure noise restrictions are followed.
The Stray can only be used for events for 36 days a year to minimise disruption for residents. All conditions of the premises licence were adhered to ahead of the Love to Be festival, and our environmental protection team monitored the site, with a licensing enforcement officer attending.
We will always engage with the local community and any noise complaints will be responded to on an individual basis.
The Park Parade resident also told the Stray Ferret people should have had the opportunity to contact the council with noise complaints during the event.
He said:
There was no out-of-hours nuisance line available at the council and there should be. All the council say is that notices with a contact number were put up at the festival and houses within 250 metres were written to. That is not acceptable.
There should be an out-of-hours complaint line and they should have considered how sound travels over the surface of the Stray and not simply apply general noise guidelines.
‘I do wonder what benefit there is for the town’
Commenting on Mr Battersby's response, the resident said:
It is obviously in the council’s financial interest to have these high paying events on the Stray, but I do wonder what benefit there is for the town and residents from an Ibiza dance music event on the Stray that attracts a limited type of person.
We also asked the council how much it charged Love to Be to hire the Oatlands Drive section of the Stray.
A spokesperson said commercial hire of the Stray is £1,380 per day before VAT, plus a non-refundable application fee is £180.
The Stray Ferret attended Love to Be Festival, which will return to Harrogate next year. You can recap the event by viewing out photo gallery here.
We also contacted Love to Be for comment.
Stray Act consultation
The former Harrogate Borough Council held a public consultation on amending the Stray Act almost a decade ago.
The council proposed changing the act to allow for a great number of events to be held on the Stray.
The Harrogate Advertiser reported on the outcome in 2017, which saw more than 2,000 people vote against the motion.
A total of 47% of people voted in favour of the amendments, but nothing was changed in the end.
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