Newcastle Exhibition Park: Festival noise limits after complaints

Events at a Newcastle park will be subject to new limits on noise and finishing times after a music festival attracted a raft of complaints.

This is Tomorrow in Exhibition Park was headlined by acts including North Shields-born Sam Fender in September.

But it disturbed some residents and more than 90 complaints were received.

Licensing chiefs agreed future events can go ahead but imposed restrictions including ending the sale of alcohol and music performances at 22:30 BST.

Urban Green - the charity which operates the city's parks - had asked for permission for up to 20 events a year, with between 500 and 15,000 attendees.

Four would be deemed "high impact" occasions with in excess of 5,000 people, lasting no more than three days each.

The local authority's licensing sub-committee agreed to grant a licence but included 40 conditions - after council safety and regulation chief Ed Foster called for tough limits to be imposed.

Similar complaints were made in 2019 when residents hit out at the "diabolical" noise which could be heard over the sound of the local church organ.

Councillors also backed a crucial restriction on noise from music festivals, limiting it to no more than five decibels above existing background levels at the nearest homes.

Urban Green had wanted that limit to be 10 decibels above and its lawyer, Duncan Craig, claimed that the council's harsher ask would prevent any concerts from being held at all, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

The charity's representatives argued that large, cash-generating events were essential to paying for the upkeep of the 33 parks it manages, and to fund smaller, community-focused activities.

Jon Riley, acting chief executive of Urban Green Newcastle, said: "Whilst this wasn't the decision we were hoping for, we accept Newcastle City Council's decision, which reduces the number of licensable events Urban Green Newcastle can deliver in Exhibition Park over a 12-month period."

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