Noise from Wide Awake festival

[ArmandHelpen1]

We are half an hour’s walk from Brockwell park and yet the noise and bass from the festival has been relentless and unbearable all weekend.

Am I the only one who thinks it’s unreasonable to cause such a nuisance over a prolonged period in a residential area? 
 

We don’t benefit in any way from the event, and yet are expected to endure it. 

 

 

[Blah Blah]

You are not the only one no. Local residents are fighting Lambeth through the courts over the increased use of Brockwell Pak for these types of events. And there is the GALA festival on the Rye this weekend, also unbearable at times, although it seems to be a bit quieter today. Brockwell Park is probably more complicated in terms of noise management, because the entire park is on the side of a hill. The Rye at least is sunken in a bit where they locate the festival. 

[ArmandHelpen1]

It’s just so so loud, I can’t imagine what it must be like if you live right next to the park. I am so stressed by the noise half an hour away! How can this be permitted?

 

[Blah Blah]

It's permitted because the council grants an events licence. But if you were to blast music from your back garden for 10 hours a day accross four days, they'd shut you down on day one. There will be a noise plan in place, but it is probably the same as the one for the GALA festival, which dismisses any breach of the agreed noise levels as long as they are brought back within limits witihn 15 minutes. In other words, a breach is never really a breach according to the council. This is why local residents feel exasperated.

[mlteenie]

I think the main issue was with the wind - sound waves are physical and will be blown around. 

[malumbu]

I've got noisy neighbours.  Some are always cutting wood and metal over the weekend and into the summer evenings using mitre saws, angle grinders and the like.  Breaking up concrete with Kangos.  Getting concrete poured or skips changed at 7 in the morning. And then there are those to lazy (they say they are busy) to cut their lawns and hedges cut, so rather than using quieter electric mowers etc the professional do it with motor mowers and electric strimmers.  Then there are the BBQs and outdoor parties, with the loud music and conversations, or the kids' parties the worst culprit has a pool so in warm weather kids swarm round there.  There are noise controls for building work and big DIY projects, but many don't adhere to them.  So much for good neighbours.

[Rockets]

But Mal, if someone is playing incessant music loudly in their garden and it is causing a nuisance then the council will send around a noise officer and they will have words with said person. The council, on the other hand, is happy to allow events that cause incessant noise disruption for thousands and thousands of people over multiple days over multiple weekends and are actively encouraging it. Does that not seem slightly hypocritical? Or does hypocrisy not count when there is revenue to be had?

Perhaps this is the route those impacted need to take, just keep reporting the council-mandated events to the council's noise team over and over and over again during the duration of the disruption.....

[jazzer]

4 hours ago, malumbu said:

I've got noisy neighbours.  Some are always cutting wood and metal over the weekend and into the summer evenings using mitre saws, angle grinders and the like.  Breaking up concrete with Kangos.  Getting concrete poured or skips changed at 7 in the morning. And then there are those to lazy (they say they are busy) to cut their lawns and hedges cut, so rather than using quieter electric mowers etc the professional do it with motor mowers and electric strimmers.  Then there are the BBQs and outdoor parties, with the loud music and conversations, or the kids' parties the worst culprit has a pool so in warm weather kids swarm round there.  There are noise controls for building work and big DIY projects, but many don't adhere to them.  So much for good neighbours.

Can people try and be positive, it's a City, you're always bound to get noise. Try talking and getting on with neighbours, it makes life so much easier helping each other out, chatting, talking, laughing, crying and having fun together. 

[malumbu]

Thought a bit of balance was useful, for many there are loud disturbances over much of the year. Not sure if several days of noise from  a festival is worse than the asses who regularly use lounge power tools, in particular to cut through steel. 

3 minutes ago, jazzer said:

Can people try and be positive, it's a City, you're always bound to get noise. Try talking and getting on with neighbours, it makes life so much easier helping each other out, chatting, talking, laughing, crying and having fun together. 

This forum is anything but positive.  I was being a little mischievous.  Yes loud DIY projects and builders working out of hours does get my goat.  But not enough to start a thread of proper rant.

[alice]

How many Premier League football stadiums are there in London?  40,000 people plus coming into residential areas every week. 

[jazzer]

27 minutes ago, malumbu said:

I was being a little mischievous.  Yes loud DIY projects and builders working out of hours does get my goat.  But not enough to start a thread of proper rant.

And everything was settling down and then you play the mischievous card. 

[Rockets]

44 minutes ago, alice said:

How many Premier League football stadiums are there in London?  40,000 people plus coming into residential areas every week. 

But Alice, most football stadiums in London have been in the areas they are in for around 100 years - so there aren't any people who can say they were surprised to find a stadium dropped into their midsts. And it's actually the noise pollution that is the biggest concern not the people flocking to the festivals (that's a pain for those in the most immediate vicinity).

We don't live close enough to Brockwell or Peckham Rye to be impacted by the people attending but we are impacted by the noise from both - that is the real problem here and why densely populated inner areas within crowded cities are no place for music festivals. As I said before if I set-up a  sound system in my garden that disrupted as many people as Brockwell and Peckham Rye does trust me, the council would be round in a jiffy to shut it down....

[malumbu]

Not really sure why SE22 is getting upset about Brockwell Park.  I expect more people around here attend the festivals than are inconvenienced by it.  But it supports my view that many like to complain even when not directly affected.

Football grounds move.  Attendances change.  Demographic too,not old blokes in flat caps or boys in short trousers with rattles.  Arsenal attendances at the Emirates are over twice what they were in the late 80s at Highbury.  Much more disruption in N1 nowadays.  DHFC tripples what they were 15 years ago, but good news is much quieter than the past.  

[DuncanW]

Emirates Stadium is  >60,00 but they tend to be very quiet 🙂

Jokes aside though, it's a case in point. Highbury was <40,000 and was 300M up the road, so there are definitely Islington residents who used to live half a mile from a fairly big football stadium, and now live right by a massive one. One that holds rock/pop concerts too accomodating 70,000 fans whether they like ot or not.  

40% of Islington households are in social housing so regardless of when they moved their current homes, they may have had little say in exactly where they are housed. 

 

[Cancerian]

It’s the impact the festival has on the community, the people living next door to the park who have to endure the thumping music and worse. Then there’s the park and the state it’s left in and the wildlife, especially nesting birds. All the roads going down Denmark Hill towards the park were closed off and roads off half moon lane and going up towards West Norwood closed off with wardens at each end, who were paid by Lambeth Council to stand there for the 4 days. 
The festival made the news channels and interviews suggested most of the people attending weren’t fron the local area but places like Ireland and Scotland. 
I live a 20 minute walk from the park and could hear the thumping music all day and night. Also the wind certainly carried the smell of drugs to my garden! For 4 days I couldn’t believe how strong it was. 

[Rockets]

1 hour ago, malumbu said:

Not really sure why SE22 is getting upset about Brockwell Park.

Errr could it be because of the noise pollution coming from it perhaps? You may not be able to hear it where you live but anyone on the Dulwich Village side of Lordship Lane all the way to beyond Brockwell Park is being disturbed by it - the sound wash from it is huge and that's a lot of people. As I said before we know people who live nearer to Brockwell Park to us and they say it is unbearable.

 

38 minutes ago, DuncanW said:

Jokes aside though, it's a case in point. Highbury was <40,000 and was 300M up the road, so there are definitely Islington residents who used to live half a mile from a fairly big football stadium, and now live right by a massive one.

To be fair the Emirates moved to a piece of wasteland between railway tracks so it actually in a less densely populated area now and the council actually goes out of their way to try to mitigate the impact on local residents and yes, other than the concerts, you could hear a pin drop on matchdays! 😉 

[Sue]

5 hours ago, Rockets said:

But Mal, if someone is playing incessant music loudly in their garden and it is causing a nuisance then the council will send around a noise officer and they will have words with said person. 

Is that not only true within certain hours?

I just did a quick Google and this came up (not specifically Southwark):

The Noise Act 1996 defines "night hours" as 11 pm to 7 am, and local councils can take action if noise levels are excessive during this time. This means they can issue warning notices or even investigate for a statutory nuisance if the noise is particularly disruptive, according to Gov.uk. 

I'm sure it's more complicated than that, and I'm sure it's been discussed on here before, though I can't remember which thread.

[Rockets]

I don't think it is time restricted...the Southwark noise team's website says....(oh and look at the very first item on the list....;-))

 

Noise issues and nuisances that we can deal with

We can help if you're being disturbed by noise coming from:

• amplified music
• TV
• parties
• nightclubs and pubs including people outside making noise
• DIY home renovation
• some construction sites
• barking dogs
• alarms / car alarms
• odours and fumes from commercial properties
• smoke
• commercial venues and events
• dust or noise from some works or equipment in the street
• fireworks at night from 11pm to 7am - extensions exist for the following festivals:
  • first day of Chinese New Year until 1am the following day
  • on the day of Diwali until 1am the following day
  • New Year's Eve until 1am on New Year's Day
  • 05 November until midnight

[Sue]

And halfway down, "commercial venues and events" 🙄

[pebs]

The irony of the name of this festival...