=
THRUXTON
AND DISTRICT PROTECTION SOCIETY
=
Annual
review meeting with Thruxton Circuit Managment
=
Present:-
Thruxton Circuit Managment:-<=
/span> Henry Pelham, De=
nnis
Carter, Bill Coombs
T.D.P.S.:- =
John
Storey, Jonathan Gray
The purpose of the meeting was to review activities of t=
he
Circuit during 2008 as they affect the surrounding villages.
Points raised by T.D.P.S. are as follows (with T.C.M.
comments in blue):-
1.
The level of
noise on race, practice, and qualification days, and indeed, on other
“Track” days was noticeably higher this year than in previous
years, and several complaints were received from the villages.
It is thoug=
ht
the reason for this is that, during the construction of the new bund, it was
necessary to remove the vegetation that was growing on the work site. This vegetation may have acted as
something of a noise dampener in the past.
The bund was
not completed until sometime in September, so it would only have had full
effect at the very end of the season.
The Easter meeting – the noisiest - was a “one off” meeting, as it w= as to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the circuit as a race track= , the meeting included a race for Historic Formula 2 Cars (unsilenced) this had b= een discussed with the TDPS when the 2007 meeting took place. This type of meeting will not be repeated in 2009, and is only likely to take place rarely in future years.<= o:p>
As next year
will be the first real test of the effectiveness of the bunds the Circuit
Management has asked that they be given early advice by the people who felt
that the bunds had made little or no difference to noise in the village.
2.
Would it be
possible to plant evergreen trees on the slopes of the new bund to further
reduce the noise ?
The design =
of
the bund is such that the inner slope (facing the track) is built at the
maximum angle of repose of the soil used in the construction in order to
deflect the noise upwards. Be=
cause
of this, it is not possible for trees to gain a “foothold”. The=
re
would be no noise “benefit” gained by
planting trees on the outer slope. However, low growing vegetation wil=
l be
planted on both sides of the bund, and it is believed that this will have s=
ome
noise-deadening effect.
3.
One comment
received was that the earth banks are monstrously high and spoil the landscape while they make no difference to the noise. T=
hey
will cause Fyfield residents to lose hours of sunshine in the winter
afternoons. It is hoped that they will not be so=
high
on the high ground around the school as this will directly affect some hous=
es
in the village. Why are they =
so
much higher than the previous bund along
The reason =
for
construction of the bund is to minimise the noise impact of the circuit on
Kimpton. The position, height of the bunds was the result of noise tests and
subsequent advice from the
4.
How many days=
of
track use are permitted annually ?
The agreeme=
nt
with TDPS allows a total of 12 days per year for practicing, qualifying, or
racing per annum and a further 4 days unsilenced testin=
g . Additionally, the circuit is licen=
sed to
use the track during weekday normal working hours for 120 days a year inclu=
ding
8 Saturdays for road-silenced vehicles In 2008, the circuit had it=
s best
year to date for the latter use of the track – it was used for about =
105
days but, bookings for 2009 are expected to be sharply down due to the curr=
ent
“credit crunch”.
5.
The WW11 'pillbox' in the field on the corner was destroyed in the
A number of
buildings were removed in the Spring after discu=
ssions
with the police, who were concerned that they were dangerous and could cause
harm to children. No listed buildings were destroyed. The buildings did not include any =
" pillboxes" but were wartime personnel shel=
ters
or ammunition bunkers.
One local resident was wo=
ken
in the early hours of a Sunday morning by music and a loudspeaker blari=
ng,
which stopped at
Other events
which take place, not involving the use of the race track, are strictly
controlled insofar as noise levels are concerned. No event took place on the circuit=
in
the circumstances for which this complaint arose during the year, so the
conclusion must be that the noise originated from elsewhere.
Other matters discussed at
the meeting were:-
·=
; =
Aircraft noise
levels and transit of the villages.
Several complaints have been received regarding small aircraft passi=
ng
over the villages – Kimpton in particular – whilst it is known =
that
Thruxton Air Traffic Control has imposed a “no go” zone to prev=
ent
this.
Mr Pelham is
aware that there were a number of infringements of the zone during the year,
and has reprimanded the pilots concerned.
·=
; =
The field to =
the
West of Stanbury Road, bordered by that road from approximately opposite
Kimpton School and by Snoddington Road.
Mr Pelham
advised that this field will be fenced with chain link during the next few
months. This is necessary due to the problems of vandalism. There will be t=
wo
gates into the field, one slightly higher up the road than the entrance to =
the
school, and the other more or less at the junction of the Kimpton and
Snoddington Roads.
Local resid=
ents
who wish to use the field for recreational purposes (e.g. Dog-walking) will=
be
able to obtain an electronic “key” from the Circuit for a small
cost, just sufficient to cover the cost of the key.
·=
; =
Mr Pelham adv=
ised
that he had received a number of complaints during the year of an anonymous
nature to which he was obviously unable to respond. He reiterated that he would welcom=
e the
opportunity to discuss problems with individuals, and requested those who h=
ad
any complaints to leave their name and phone number if he is not immediately
available, and he will get in touch with them as soon as practicable to try=
to
resolve things.