“Exemplary” noise controls on festivals held on Newcastle’s Town Moor this summer are proof that the city can host major events without creating a nightmare for neighbours, council bosses say.
Newcastle City Council chiefs launched a crackdown on nuisance from big music festivals, imposing a set of strict new conditions limiting activity in Exhibition Park and Leazes Park after complaints about “horrendous” disturbance caused by last year’s This is Tomorrow concerts. The Exhibition Park furore sparked a row between local authority officials and the charity which now runs the city’s green spaces, Urban Green Newcastle, which claimed that the tougher noise limits would make it impossible to stage large events and thereby cut off a critical source of income.
But councillors were told last week that three big festivals held on the Town Moor this summer, which were also subject to new regulations from the council, had attracted far fewer complaints than had been feared.
Read More: New limits on music festivals in Leazes Park confirmed as council imposes more tough restrictions
Civic centre bosses had warned earlier this year that residents could be subjected to “10 hours of repetitive bass music” from the two-day LooseFest at the end of July. The Town Moor also played host to the Rock n Roll Circus in June and UK Pride in July. Ed Foster, the council’s head of public safety and regulation, confirmed that the three festivals combined attracted fewer than 20 complaints, while This is Tomorrow in 2021 had provoked more than 90.
The Rock n Roll Circus, which was headlined by Noel Gallagher, had no complaints and Mr Foster said nearby residents “hardly knew it was there”. Pride received six noise complaints and LooseFest 13, though Mr Foster said the latter had complied with noise limits on its stages but experienced unexpected nuisance caused by its fairground before action was taken and residents of nearby Highbury in Jesmond “gave some very positive feedback”.
He told the council’s overview and scrutiny committee that the city now had an “exemplary” template for future festivals and that the success “bodes well for Urban Green and Exhibition Park”. He added: “I believe we have listened in terms of the noise and reduced the noise significantly from major events.
“It is when we have events that are community-led that they can’t afford it. Pride cannot afford the same systems as Loosefest, but we try to achieve the best standard and it is a difficult road to tread. But I do believe we have got the balance right.”
His comments came in response to Labour councillor Rob Higgins, who had raised concerns about the council being perceived as “heavy-handed” with its noise controls and potentially deterring event organisers from coming here.
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