New restrictions on music festivals in Newcastle’s Leazes Park have been confirmed, in the latest step of a clampdown on noise nuisance in the city.
Major events in the park will be capped at six days per year and be subject to new noise limits, under tight conditions imposed by councillors. It comes after a similar crackdown in Exhibition Park following complaints that major concerts like This Is Tomorrow were turning Newcastle’s green spaces into “outdoor nightclubs”, while action has also been promised to protect neighbours from the impact of the huge LooseFest on the Town Moor this summer.
Charity Urban Green Newcastle, which was handed control of the city’s parks in 2019, went before Newcastle City Council’s licensing sub-committee on May 19 to request a new alcohol and events licence for Leazes Park, where festivals like Noughty 90s and Lost Minds have been held. While a previous hearing over Exhibition Park had proved a contentious affair in which the charity had argued that constraints being imposed by the council risked making it impossible to hold any major events and thereby cutting off a vital source of income, Urban Green this time agreed to the bulk of the suggestions made this time by the civic centre’s environmental health chiefs.
Read More: Noise clampdown promise as Newcastle's Town Moor prepares to welcome 60,000 people for LooseFest
The conditions of the new licence for Leazes Park, which has now been granted, include:
- A maximum six days per year of events with between 501 and 14,999 people in attendance;
- Events must close at 10.30pm and all patrons be dispersed from the park by 11pm, aside from on days preceding a working day when all licensable activities must cease at 9.30pm and the premises empty by 10pm;
- Notice of any large event must be given ideally 180 days, but not less than 90 days, before it takes place and a bespoke noise report must be submitted for each;
- Music noise levels taken from the nearest noise sensitive receptors must not exceed 65 decibels over a 15-minute period and will be adjusted accordingly if they do.
Four local residents had lodged objections against Urban Green’s plans, as had two Monument ward councillors, with concerns about “wholly unacceptable" nuisance, litter, and damage done to the park.
But the committee concluded: “The concerns raised by the residents and ward councillors had to be balanced against the limited operation of the licence (both in terms of days and hours), the regulation brought about by the agreed conditions (including e.g. a noise management plan and litter conditions), and the benefits to the community and the park’s infrastructure which the operation of the premises licence would bring about. Ultimately, the committee felt that to grant the application as amended by the applicant and subject to the suite of conditions agreed would not undermine the licensing objectives.”
Jon Riley, acting chief executive of Urban Green Newcastle, promised that events at the park would be “varied, inclusive and diverse”. He added: "Alongside a small number of large scale events each year, like the upcoming Newcastle Allotment & Garden Show, there will be lots of community events and opportunities for people to play a part in creating exciting experiences in their local park.
"Events help attract people to our wonderful green spaces and allow us to engage with local communities. All the profits raised from our year round events programme will be reinvested across all our parks and allotments to ensure they remain safe, clean and welcoming places to visit.
"As with all the events we deliver, Urban Green Newcastle will continue to protect local habitats, preserve the local environment, and limit any disruption to local residents."
Read More:
