Neighbours fed up of living next door to school 'like Blackpool Illuminations'
Furious residents have blasted a school over its football pitch floodlights and the foul language of players using it, stating it is ruining their children's bedtimes.
Councillor Michael Taylor, who represents the Trafford's Hale Barns area, spoke out after being contacted by families about the 'noise and swearing' and parking chaos around St Ambrose College.
He told the authority's planning and development management committee: "I've visited this school in the evening and all you can hear is 'effing' and the 'c' word, and everyone is parking all over the place and there's so much noise.
St Ambrose was rebuilt in 2010 and since then use of its floodlights have been restricted to 9am to 7pm Monday to Fridays. But the school now wants to extend that time by one hour to 8pm. Referring to the foul-mouthed abuse and reports that the existing planning conditions were being flouted with floodlights left on until the early hours of the morning on occasions, Councillor Taylor continued: "We know what people get like with football.
Furious residents have blasted a school over its football pitch floodlights (Manchester Evening News)"It's like Blackpool Illuminations. It's a recurring issue where people are still playing on the fields past when they shouldn't be." Resident David Zuker, in a written statement to the committee, accused the school of 'making no efforts to meet the neighbours' and opposed the application for extending the hours.
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He said: "The previous conditions were blatantly flouted and we have no confidence that the new conditions will be adhered to." Meanwhile, Coun Taylor's colleague in the Hale Barns and Timperley South ward as well as Conservative group leader, Nathan Evans, also spoke against the application.
He told of 'a continuous stream of complaints' around the lights and 'unauthorised use of the pitches'. Coun Evans continued: "To highlight the problems, one of our residents who fosters children and puts them to bed at 7pm. Each night they are blighted by unacceptable light pollution and noise."
He referenced a complaint from a resident who said: "I have called the school on a number of times to complain about the lights being left on overnight and when older children have been climbing into the artificial pitch facility. It's now 8.25pm and we have been putting our children to bed. Unfortunately, l am complaining as this is the second evening the lights have been left on."
Coun Evans expressed his concern, saying: "These residents have suffered the effects of these lights since they were installed when the new school was built to replace the old building. I have been passed numerous photos from all hours. 4am in the morning isn't uncommon where the end of resident's garden looked like Blackpool Illuminations."
He warned that if the application was granted, it would mean lights on until 8pm every night for at least nine months of the year. "It will be virtually impossible to put a toddler to bed," he added. Planning officer Helen Milner mentioned that the school had informed the planning enforcement team about issues with 'malfunctioning lights'.
"They say they will install additional light screens to prevent light spill," she said, as planning officers recommended approval of the application." Coun Simon Thomas spoke in favour of the application, suggesting that conditions could be imposed to further regulate the lights 'if they go awry'. It also opens up a sports amenity and beneficial for the health and wellbeing of young people," he said. "It's a no brainer."
However, Coun Meena Minnis expressed her sympathy for the residents, saying: "I have a great deal of sympathy for the residents. The idea of them having lights on past 10pm fills me with dread. The residential houses are very near and I don't think it's fair to subject them to lights and noise. It's not reasonable to impose this on homes nearby."
Green member Coun Dan Jerrome suggested allowing the application for one year and then to review how the floodlights are being managed, and after that motion was put forward it was agreed by the committee. Principal of St Ambrose College Dermot Rainey said: "We are aware of some concerns from local residents and clearly we want to work with them on this matter. We haven't received any complaints regarding unauthorised use of the premises. We understand the residents' frustrations regarding a recent floodlight issue caused by an electrical fault. Our understanding is that this was an isolated incident."
"We are proud that a number of local clubs want to make use of our facilities, but it is of paramount importance that we continue to liaise with residents and the wider community as necessary."
* An AI tool was used to add an extra layer to the editing process for this story. You can report any errors to [email protected]
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