Calls for council intervention due to noise concerns over planning application for marquee next to Chesterfield listed buildings

Several noise concerns have been raised after Dunston Hall Leisure Limited has submitted a planning application to place a marquee on the land owned by Dunston Hall, Garden Centre and Farm on Dunston Road. If approved, the marquee will remain at Dunston Hall for three years and will be accompanied by a car park for visitors.

Dunston Hall, which has origins in the 17th Century and is a Grade II listed building, had a planning application granted to turn one of its outbuilding into a wedding venue. Following the decision, a temporary marquee was placed next to Dunston Hall, hosting events and causing noise to residents.

Chesterfield Civic Society has been invited to make further comments on the application in a view of some revisions that have been made to it, including acquirement of Dunston Hall Farm by the owner of Dunston Hall.

Philip Riden, Chairman at Chesterfield and District Civic Society said: “We continue to take the view that the erection of this marquee, and the associated groundworks, do not have an adverse impact on the nearby listed buildings. We are, however, very impressed with the force of three letters from nearby residents on the file for this application. These are clearly heartfelt and genuine complaints concerning the unacceptable level of noise to which they have been subject late into the evening from events in the marquee."

One of the residents, Kirk Hayles said: “I live south of the proposed development site at Dunston Grange on the site of the listed Dunston Grange Farm, just off Dunston Lane. I am very greatly concerned about this proposal. A temporary marquee was located on the site in the Summer of 2022 and the noise level was unbearable on more than one occasion, to the extent that I vowed to start recording incidents so that I could make a complaint to the Council.

"On Saturday 6th August 2022, it was not possible to have our windows open despite the heat of the summer and even with the windows closed and good, modern double glazing, the constant thump of music could be heard as well as voices over the loudspeakers, well past 11.30 in the evening. At one point my 4 year old woke in the night and struggled to get back to sleep because of the noise.

Other residents, Mr and Mrs Austin, said in their comment: “I must strongly stress my concern for this proposal. My family and I have experienced countless disturbed nights over the summer period of 2022 due to the excessively loud music, cheering and amplified voices coming from the temporary marquee at Dunston Hall.

“The property my family and I live in, is a new build. It is extremely well insulated. However, even with all the windows and doors closed the noise still penetrated through. Enough so that we could hear what was being said over the microphones and could hear the lyrics of the songs being played.

“I have called numerous times to speak to a member of staff at Dunston Hall via both phone call and going to the property, in hopes of discussing the noise levels. All calls have gone unanswered and no-one has ever answered the gate calls. It makes me question how concerns will be addressed if calls to discuss them are not being answered to begin with.”

Following the complaints, the agent stated in the ‘response to consultee and neighbourhood document’: “The venue strive to ensure that noise levels are at an acceptable level to not cause a statutory noise nuisance to nearby residents and have co-operated with Council Environmental Health Officers on the one occasion they have had cause to visit the site on the 6th August 2022 event referred to in the comments.”

But Steve Payne, District Environmental Health Officer at Chesterfield Borough Council, dismissed the comment.

He said: “This is not the case. I did not carry out an observation on that date, and have only been on contact with the applicant in connection with a complaint made by the management of the Hall regarding a separate property.

"I have concerns regarding noise from the relocated marquee, and have recently received complaints regarding noise from the marquee, which (despite the impression given by the applicant) is already in place and in use. I have witnessed the marquee in use and on one occasion believe that it may well have given rise to an actionable noise nuisance. The only reason that I did not serve an Abatement Notice after this visit was that another event nearby was noted to be louder and interfered with the observation."

The civil society suggested that if the Borough Council grants planning permission for the marquee, which would remain next to Dunston Hall for three years, two conditions should be imposed and strictly enforced.

These include a stringent limit on the volume of noise generated by events in the marquee and a removal of the marquee as soon as the outbuildings, which were the subject of the earlier planning application, are brought into use. If this is not done, the civil society suggests the marquee should be immediately removed by the Borough Council at the applicant’s expense.

Philip Riden added: “If a qualified and experienced environmental health officer takes such a serious view of the nuisance, then we are quite certain that the noise is unacceptable.”