Noise barrier plans for Bakewell wet play area

The council plans to spend £12,000 on a noise barrier to deaden the sound of children’s shrill screams at a wet play area after a resident living nearby complained about it.

The wet play area at Bakewell Recreation Ground hit national headlines in June this year when Derbyshire Dales District Council partially closed it at the height of summer following the noise complaint.

After a public outcry the original opening times of the play area were reinstated, however the the council still needed to address the problem.

Noise monitoring was carried out at the site over a six week period at a cost of £2,600 to the authority.

Using LA90 noise measurements, the level of sound coming from the play area when it was not in operation was between 46dB (decibels) and 49dB.

When the play area was in use however, the noise levels rose to an average of between 56dB and 57dB.

The accoustic sound barrier would be two metres high and 13.5 metres long. It is estimated that it would cut the noise by 7.1dB.

The £12,000 cost of the screen would be paid for out of the council’s capital programme.

Additionally it was recommended that a landscaped shrub boarder be planted to address the issue of parents allowing their children to urinate next to resident’s gardens.

This would cost approximately £2,500 and be funded from the capital programme.

In a meeting of the council’s environment committee on Thursday, Councillor Peter Slack commented: “On the site visit we could see the different issues involved in it and all these recommendations are the answer.”

The committee passed the recommendations, which included a provision that further noise monitoring may be carried out on the site in the future to determine the effectiveness of the screen and whether it was necessary to install a second screen.