Expert says Wild Life noise ‘not excessive’ ahead of licence review

W24C wild life festival in Shoreham on June 6/7 SUS-150906-135532001

NOISE from Wild Life festival which prompted a series of complaints was ‘not excessive’, a senior environmental health officer has concluded.

The Shoreham Society has triggered a review of the event’s premises licence, after a quarter of 142 residents it surveyed said noise from the two-day event at Shoreham Airport in June was ‘excessive’.

It has called for sound levels to be limited – but a report to be considered by Adur District Council’s licensing committee on Tuesday suggests noise recorded at the time was not inappropriate.

A representation by senior environmental health officer Michael Lavender, who measured the sound levels at complainants’ properties during the event, said: “My own subjective opinion was that the noise was audible but it was not excessive, a view shared by my colleague who also monitored the event.

“I could hold a normal conversation without having to raise my voice and given the event is only one weekend a year, I would not consider the disturbance caused by it to amount to a public nuisance.”

The application registered 19 letters of support, with 16 in favour of organisers SJM.

Complaints included ‘an unacceptable continual thump of bass’ and a resident reportedly ‘unable to sleep in our home with the windows shut’.