Small victory in battle over noise at Croft

Richmondshire District Council has won few friends among residents who live around Croft after making a controversial decision to back down on a Noise Abatement Notice in 1999.

The authority claimed a barrister had warned it was unlikely to win the case and it therefore decided it had no option but to withdraw.

However, it had to pay the bill the circuit ran up preparing a defence, which was reportedly as high as £40,000.

But, in November last year, there was a change of tack when it emerged a number of people living around Croft had been diagnosed with illnesses which a GP had linked to the noise from the autodrome.

The council indicated it was prepared to re-examine the possibility of action against the circuit in the light of fresh evidence.

However, resident Derek Watson claimed there was nothing new in claims the circuit could be putting people's health at risk, with similar allegations dating back to 1996.

He subsequently wrote to Richmondshire District Council's environment department in November with a list of questions, asking if councillors knew health may have been an issue when they voted to drop the Noise Abatement Notice in 1999.

He also asked if councillors had been aware just how strong the argument could be should the authority have decided to take the matter further.

To date, he has not been given an answer he is happy with.

Mr Watson made an official complaint as a result and, when the council's standards committee met on Thursday evening (Feb 29), it agreed Mr Watson was owed an apology. Solicitor, Margaret Barry, will also be compiling more detailed answers to Mr Watson's questions over the next few days.

Afterwards, Mr Watson admitted he was happy with the outcome of the two-hour meeting. "It's progress isn't it?" he said. "I hope the answers to my questions will throw more light on the Croft controversy and we can move on from there."