Newcastle has 'right balance' over festival noise after row

Newcastle hosted UK Pride along with Loosefest and Rock n Roll Circus

A crackdown on noise from festivals held on Newcastle's Town Moor is proof major events can be staged without being a nuisance, a council has said.

Following complaints about the This is Tomorrow concerts last year, controls were put in place limiting activity in Exhibition Park and Leazes Park.

Councillors heard that three big festivals this summer attracted far fewer complaints than had been feared.

The council was told Newcastle had an "exemplary" template for future events.

The Exhibition Park furore sparked a row between local authority officials and the charity which runs the city's green spaces, Urban Green Newcastle.

The latter claimed tougher noise limits would make it impossible to stage large events, severing a critical source of income, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Newcastle's Town Moor is close to residential areas including Jesmond

Civic centre bosses had warned that residents could be subjected to "10 hours of repetitive bass music" from the two-day LooseFest.

The Town Moor also played host to the Rock n Roll Circus in June and UK Pride in July.

Ed Foster, the council's head of public safety and regulation, said the three festivals combined attracted fewer than 20 complaints, while This is Tomorrow in 2021 had provoked more than 90.

The Rock n Roll Circus, headlined by Noel Gallagher, had no complaints and nearby residents "hardly knew it was there", the council was told.

Pride had six noise complaints and LooseFest 13, though Mr Foster said the latter had complied with noise limits on its stages but experienced unexpected nuisance from its fairground.

"I believe we have listened... and reduced the noise significantly from major events," he said.

"It is when we have events that are community-led that they can't afford it. Pride cannot afford the same systems as Loosefest, but we try to achieve the best standard and it is a difficult road to tread. 

"But I do believe we have got the balance right."

His comments came in response to Labour's Rob Higgins, who said the council risked being perceived as "heavy-handed" and deterring event organisers.