Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Dangerous noise levels (95 decibels) in kids playground Finsbury Park, Sunday afternoon - were you there? Please contact council.
My three year old, my husband and I visited Finsbury Park kids playground on Sunday afternoon and commented on the noise levels so decided to measure it. We recorded 95 decibels average using an IOS app (these are actually surprisingly accurate). These are levels which are dangerous to the hearing of adults let alone the developing ears of kids. I've worked at festivals and at these noise levels all the workers on site will be handed ear plugs and warned of the potential dangers to their hearing.
I decided to call the Haringey council help line for the event which was supposed to me manned during festival hours: No answer. So I called the event manager's helpline who did pick up at least. The lady informed me that monitoring sound levels at the kids playground was not in the terms of their license!
I understand that these events bring revenue for the council and the park but many of us parents rely on the playground for our sanity at the weekend. Haringey council should make it within the terms of an events license to keep sound levels at the playground within non-dangerous levels during the hours when the playground is in use.
If you were there or even if you were not I urge you to contact the council and complain and request that monitoring sound levels at the playground should be part of the terms of the license of events at the park.
What do you think? Were you there? Did you try and contact the council help line?
Tags for Forum Posts: finsbury park, finsbury park events
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by rachel on
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UPDATE: I have now spoken to Haringey. They need a certain number of complaints to consider making changes to the licensing arrangements of events. Please get in contact with them and let them know that you'd like noise levels monitored in the playground and kept at a reasonable level during play hours in future. Contact either or both of the noise (http://www.haringey.gov.uk/environment-and-waste/noise-and-animal-c... or the licensing (http://www.haringey.gov.uk/business/licensing-and-regulations/licen...) team.
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Permalink Reply by John McMullan on
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Pollution from Wightman Rd will be having a much bigger effect on your children.
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Permalink Reply by Karen Alexander on
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We live half way down Wightman Road and could still hear the music even with our doors and windows closed! I feel sorry for anyone who lives closer!
John - Haringey Council are clearly not bothered about doing anything about the pollution on Wightman Road but they should be properly regulating the activities that happen in the park that they are renting out for profit! The fact that the noise levels were so loud this weekend is unacceptable.
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Thanks Karen
I did some further research and noise exposure at 97 decibels should be limited to 30 minutes to prevent hearing damage in adults. I'm guessing for children (who are more sensitive to noise) this should be even less. And most park visits are over 30 minutes.
I think the onus should be on the event organisers to prevent sound levels going to high at the children's playground during play hours (by muffling leakage somehow or limiting volume). This needs to be mandated in the terms of their license with the council and each license is negotiated separately. So the only way we can get future change is to feed this back to the noise team in the form of a complaint and hopefully this will be considered and monitored in future.
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I always wear ear defenders when using power tools etc.
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So you should! As I said I've worked at festivals and everyone on site will have been offered earplugs. I don't usually wear them and I've not got especially sensitive hearing. Neither am I a sound grump but where kids are concerned I think we should be cautious, right? (Or at least let them decide to mess up their own hearing when they're old enough!)
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We used two different iOS apps and took a few readings (frankly we were surprised too) - the reading is the lower of the two. iOS apps are more reliable than android apps in general for decibel measuring (some up to 2dB) but I'd have to check with my husband exactly which ones he used. Here's an article if you're interested: https://elacin.com/blog/elacin-wiki/how-accurate-are-db-meter-apps/.
It is possible that passing through was less disturbing than spending time there. Also if the wind changes it can affect the levels. Or they may have actually turned it down! Just going on bare ears I'd say it was definitely lawnmower / power tool loud!
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Tris - sorry for the multiple replies. I did a bit more reading and it seems low frequencies are less audible to the human ear (although no less damaging) and furthermore they carry further. So yes there could well have been "something funny going on with the bass frequencies". Thanks for getting me interested ☺️
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Bass sine waves are a lot bigger than sine waves on the treble end. Bass waves can penetrate further, which is why when a neighbour has a party, etc, often all you hear is the Dunt Dunt Dunt of the rhythm, no vocals or anything else midrange up.
I would fully expect that any licence (contract) the council enters into with a promoter wouldn't have time frames for active music and decibel limitations and liquidated damages for any breach of either (at least that is how I would set up the contract if I wrote it for the council). Then stand in the audience with decibel meters.
But we are talking about a huge cash cow for the council for doing absolutely nothing but letting someone else occupy open space. On that basis, whilst I am sympathetic (and took my own children to Ally Pally this weekend instead for this reason) I am skeptical that you will make much progress. Please prove me wrong.
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It was within the terms of this contract to monitor levels on residential streets and seven sisters road so why not the kids playground? I'm not suggesting not having the events just having noise levels monitored and controlled for our kids' safety.
It's definitely true that nothing will change unless people complain and ask for a solution.
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You've had sight of the contract? How do you know the terms?
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