TRAFFIC
Over 3,000 (updated could be around or more than 4,000 July 2016 but applications keep changing) vehicles are descending on a small rural village and nearby town over a short period of time and are leaving currently between 11pm and 1am in the morning, though they may leave later if plans for more parking are approved. Residents live metres away from main roads and current and proposed car park sites in town and village, one used without planning permission all summer. There has been a drop in local air quality on event nights during summer months when windows should be open to allow ventilation. Buses and cars have engines idling outside homes. Research suggests air quality affects health when living near roads, rural areas should enjoy better air quality this should not deteriorate.
Imagine not being able to get in or out of your village or town when you need to or in an emergency.
NOISE
Planning approval has been given for 30 night shows (2015) between 9.30pm and 11.00pm with a grand finale of noisy fireworks and event noise has been modelled to exceed noise limits which are not designed for this kind of event. Notice the photograph in this page, these houses are just over the river from a large noise source but they are not alone.
No planning approval has been given to car parks outside the main site one of which was used in 2016.
Huge amounts of traffic arriving and departing add to the detrimental impact on nearby homes as well as fireworks which can be heard over a large area.
Car parks are proposed to nearly surround a small village and the night show does not finish until 11.00pm. The car parks take on average 2 hours to decant and this is likely to increase with more parking on the way. Imagine noise around you. People are being disturbed until the early hours or longer who have to go to work early the next day on recurrent weekend nights. More recurrent nights may be added next year.
People and wildlife may be at risk.
HEALTH
People should have a choice about when they go to bed to sleep so that they remain fit and healthy. Noise has a detrimental impact on health, especially during night time hours when hormones are on a timetable to be released throughout the night from 9pm onwards. Sleep disturbance can lead to behavioural changes such as turning up the TV, stress or altering habits, long term it can affect hormones resulting in debilitating long term illness. Research has shown it can contribute to many types of physical illness but it can also lead to significant shifts in chemicals towards mental illness.
If people are at risk so is wildlife and many animals mimic the human sleep pattern, and others need darkness to enjoy their daytime.
HISTORIC LAND USES
We live in a beautiful area but it was very different a few decades ago when we had coal mining and you will see the legacy in the mining heritage in County Durham. This has long gone but works remain, many not mapped, not recorded and many leading to issues like sinkholes we see today. Car parks and the event site are are located/ proposed near deep, shallow and open cast coal mine sites which were not remediated to current standards. Land was also used for waste disposal with infill of unknown origin.
WILDLIFE
Imagine being able to watch otters playing in the nearby river as you take a stroll along the riverbank or living in an area which has eight species of bat with roosts in nearby woodland, an old bridge and undisturbed buildings. We have a rich natural heritage including ancient hedgerows which existed before the enclosures which are species rich, ancient woodland including bluebells, wet woodland, floodplain and highway verges with a wide variety of flowers, butterflies and insects. This may be at risk.
OUR HERITAGE AND CULTURE
We have many listed buildings and scheduled ancient monuments including a castle, parkland, a railway viaduct, old single track bridge, Roman archaeology and a town conservation area boasting a fairytale town hall. Culturally we have people from the dales, the mineral mines, travelling community and towns.
Ancient woodland and hedgerows mean ancient pack horse lanes on steep windy roads and fields where there were once mine sites. These have been undisturbed and allow animals to graze.
POLLUTION
Noise – event noise is this loud? It is claimed to be 65 decibels 1 metre from the nearest dwelling? Has this taken into account fireworks, car parks, trains over lakes, thousands of people on each site? Has this taken into account the audible nature of fireworks miles from their original site of impact? Has this taken into account debris and where it may fall? Has this taken into account the impact on animals?
Light – it is dark here, no lighting near the night show, no lighting up the A689. This is why there are so many nocturnal creatures able to enjoy living here and why there are so many endangered species living in this area alongside rural communities.
Air – at least 3000 cars (over 4,000 cars proposed July 2016) at the same time, probably more, coaches, buses, possibly idling into the small hours combined with fireworks. How will wildlife and residents live in this? Car and bus emissions, the inability to breath for long periods of time, health implications for those out in the pollutants?
Land – litter, human waste, plastics which are known to put small animals and birds at risk where we have none now, food waste to attract seagulls and vermin = drink which may accidentally be consumed by animals – glass which if broken can affect residents and wildlife. Where is the clean up and by who? The area has largely been devoid of litter.
Visual – the event site diminishes the castle, the river area was an area of high landscape value, and the staging can be seen from all views, including an old Roman fort. How will wildlife navigate to its food and home with development and how will it try and navigate where once there was green flood plain, fields with horses grazing, ancient hedgerows and trees?
Water – has pollution been considered.
ALTERNATIVES
Night shows are not in the national interest unlike energy development. Sleep is not optional, never has been and never will be optional to anyone. If suitable sites cannot be found 3000 – over 4,000 cars should not surround people. Alternatives exist. The latest planning applications for more car parks was proposed just two months before the night show began and one site has been used with no planning permission in 2016. The car park opening times proposed are 8am opening until close at 1am every day of the week. With more cars this appears to be a highly conservative estimate with regard to closing time. There are plenty of alternative sites.
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