Snetterton changes

[Dave 'Gizmo' Gymer]

Thought some of you folks would be interested in what they're planning to do there...

http://www.motorsportvision.co.uk/resources/sn_buspark/Circuitchanges.asp

[picnic]

It's a real shame the council around here will not support Castle Combe, they've tried again and again to get planning permission to upgrade the facilities and simply get noise abatement orders servered on them. We get the Bristish F3 and GT early next year so they come before the ban takes effect. Then we might never get them back again

[Dave 'Gizmo' Gymer]

We get the Bristish F3 and GT early next year so they come before the ban takes effect. Then we might never get them back again

Must make sure I get myself over to that next year then in case it really is the swansong of Combe as a serious venue. :'( And then go watch them at Brands too.

[picnic]

GAZETTE & HERALD: PROTESTERS who revved up an anti-noise campaign against Castle Combe racing circuit were celebrating victory yesterday.


Track owner Howard Strawford decided to pull out of an appeal against a court's decision to ban noise above a certain level, for fear of facing crippling legal costs if it failed.


He said: "A High Court appeal could have cost as much as £100,000. That is very expensive and it takes an awful lot of race meetings to raise that much money."


But the circuit will squeeze in next year's Formula 3 event before the ban comes into force by bringing it forward in the calendar.


Adrian Bishop, chairman of Castle Combe Parish Council, said he was delighted the circuit wouldn't be appealing.


He said: "Obviously they are up to all the tricks of being able to get round these things but I'm pleased they have cancelled the appeal and one hopes after March we will have a restriction on their noise."


At a three-day trial in July, magistrates decided the venue should adhere to the conditions of the notice made by North Wiltshire District Council, and pay court costs of almost £27,500.


Directors feared the order, which forces them to cut the maximum noise level generated by a car from 114 decibels to 108 decibels on the 12 race days held throughout the year, could drive prestigious events away.


But Mr Strawford said he had cut a deal with Formula 3 drivers who have pledged to continue to support the top motorsport venue.


He said he would dodge the order next year by holding his popular Formula 3 event on March 25 and 26 ­ the weekend before in comes into place.


However in subsequent years, it will have to comply with the 108 decibels regulation.


He said: "This winter we have got lots of ongoing improvements on the safety front, so I'm not going to chuck money at barristers when that needs doing."


The notice was served in January, after people living nearby complained about noise levels during June's Formula 3 and British GT weekend.


Bob Marshall, chief executive of North Wiltshire District Council, said: "It's a shame we couldn't have reached that position by negotiations rather than go through the court process, which was expensive for them and for the council tax payers.


"We look forward to working with Castle Combe in the future as we recognise they are an important part of the economy in north Wiltshire.


"What we are most pleased about is that they are accepting our noise levels for future events at the race circuit, which is the most important thing for people living nearby."


Villager Dorothy Smith who lives half a mile away from the circuit said: "Obviously we will still get noisy activity and a lot of traffic in the village but it will be much better to maintain it to a level that is acceptable."


Resident Sally Constable said she welcomed the news but said: "One does wonder if there is an ulterior motive."

[PaulW]

Always got the feeling, like the Cotswolds where I live, it's in a very NIMBYish area. A fair number of the tennants probably are the council.

[silver53]

Hi Guys nice to see they are doing up my old home circuit ,Snetterton, spent many hours pounding around there in races and testing . Are they putting in central heating as the place can be freezing even in summer. bye for now gerald

[fozzmeister]

That's Sh*t Picnic.

It's a shame they don't just tell them where to stick it.

[Rob Bywater "Kerb Crawlers"]

I`ll admit I know sweet fa about noise levels, but a reduction of 6 decibels on just 12 days in the year makes me wonder what the hell all the fuss is about - is it gonna make that much difference to the locals ears??

Cheers

Rob

[popabawa]

I'm simplifying hugely but...

Sounds louder than 100db are considered dangerous as exposure of just 1-2 hours can damage hearing, a condition called NIHL (Noise Induced Hearing Loss), when you get over 140db ANY exposure to the sound can cause damage.

It's kind of an increasing scale, so 6db reduction can make a significant difference. 

Of course in this case, all the people aren't exposed to these really high levels as they aren't all so close so we're talking about annoyance but the same principals apply. A reduction of even a couple of db of the noise a PC makes can make a massive difference in a quiet setting for example.

OTOH, it's only 12 days a year so you'd think they could put with a bit of noise for the sake of the local economy!

Pops.

[PaulW]

... besides- the sound of roaring engines is cool!

[picnic]

I believe the DB scale is logarithmic, each 3db increase is a doubling of sound level!

But the 108db DB is measured 1 metre from the exhaust, not 1 mile away in the village plus I believe it is only the GT weekend that requires the higher noise limit. Normal races are 106 I think already, so we are only talking 2 days plus a test day mid-week. The test days I believe the GT and F3 guys have to run extra bungs to meet the test day limits, so it really is a total of around 6 hours a year these things are running 108db.

I know I am a motorsport supported but a handful of complaints verses 20000+ specators is not democracy, I will be telling them that when they next want my vote, not that it made a jot of difference when I moaned during the general election campaigning but at least they squirm 

[silver53]

Hi Guys yes the db's are logrithmic and the RAC noise inspector is only to happy to tell you this when he fails your car for being say 8 db over and you say thats not much.I fell foul of this 15 years ago so its probably much worse now.kindest regards gerald

[Madd-RIP]

We had a similar situation down here in Swansea when the GB Rally was here, shedloads of fuddy duddies complained about the noisy cars on the road ,that there were too many of them, they were speeding in the middle of nowhere! and then to cap it all the cops put an absolute ridiculous number of speed cameras out.

What these people didn't realise was the absolutely humongous amount of money the rally brought to south Wales for those two weeks.  It was only when the FIA threatened to tell them that the rally would go elswhere because of the problems caused by these people (whilst telling them how much it was worth to the local economies) did they shut up, this year there were hardly any unnecessary cameras and there were no complaints.

PS

RIP Beef

[Edited for langauge]

[uber_dave]

Well this is shocking.  Our Formula Student car is has to be under 110dB at 10k Rpm, and that is a 600cc motorbike engine.  To fire the car up we have to take the car outside the garage (for health and saftey we're not allowed to be indoors) and even the kids in the near by skate park can't here the car - despite failing the noise test with our standard exhaust -  it's drowned out by the traffic at a round about 50m away.

I've been in the pit of an F3 car when it was running and you could talk over the noise.  I've been on the pit wall for the start of a GT race and yes it's loud, but from my experience of gigs and practice sessions with bands, i'd never wear ear plugs at the GT's but would definately wear them for a practice (my amp goes to 10, not 11, but even so i only gig around 2), where i've never had any compaints.

Some people will complain about anything if the media gives them the idea to.  Apparently, we'll run out of natural oil because we're waisting fuel on motorsport, despite the fact that 70% of all natural oil goes into lubricants which means everything mechanical, including the eco-warrior's bikes will become useless when we run out, pretty much all the rest goes on fuel for planes but i'll bet the locals don't moan about carbon credits when they fly off on holiday.

[Dave 'Gizmo' Gymer]

my amp goes to 10, not 11, but even so i only gig around 2

 

70% of all natural oil goes into lubricants which means everything mechanical, including the eco-warrior's bikes will become useless when we run out

S'okay, we can use whale oil for lubrication.