8.5.5 Noise Generating Sports

8.5.5 Noise Generating Sports

The impact of noise is an important issue in assessing proposals for activities such as motor sports.  Appropriate sites for the regular use of these sports are not easy to identify and will depend on the type of activity, the tone, level and duration of any noise generated, local topography and the amount of existing and proposed screening.  Proposals for noisy sports will only be acceptable where the likely impact can be contained and minimised by landform or woodland. Other suitable sites may include degraded land, former mineral workings or land adjacent to an existing source of noise.  In certain cases, it may be considered appropriate to only grant a temporary permission to allow the impact of noise levels and any potential disturbance or nuisance to be more fully assessed.

The Council will not normally permit development proposals for sport or recreational uses generating high levels of noise unless the following criteria are met.

• There will be no unacceptable disturbance to local residents.
• There will be no unacceptable disturbance to farm livestock and wildlife.
• There will be no conflict with the enjoyment of areas used for informal recreation.
• The ambient noise level in the area is already high and the noise likely to be produced by the new activity will not be dominant.