Speedway was a big sport in the UK in the years just after the Second World War. Britain was one of the leading exponents of this form of motorcycle racing that takes place on an oval track with bikes that have only one gear and a top speed of 70mph.
One thing that you will notice if you ever attend a speedway meeting is that the bikes are quite incredibly loud. This is not somewhere you would go for a quiet night out.
One of Hugo Carter’s newest clients can attest to the astonishing volume that a speedway meet generates.
He bought a house in the southeast outskirts of Oxford some seven years ago. Right next door was a stadium that had been disused for eight years since the Oxford Cheetahs speedway team folded in 2007.
At the time our client bought his home, the understanding was that the land would be used for residential units. After the Covid-19 pandemic, however, those plans changed…
Cheetahs Return With A Deafening roar
Fans of the Oxford Cheetahs are probably delighted that, after 15 years in the wilderness, the team is back. The stadium has been reopened and is now home to one speedway fixture each week.
People, like our client, who bought homes next to a long-disused stadium are less euphoric. Not least because there are suggestions that the venue might also be used for greyhound racing meetings and weekend concerts.
We visited our client during a speedway meeting recently and the noise in his home was incredible. From our position in his living room, we measured the noise during a race at more than 90 decibels.
How loud is that?
Very loud.
It’s about the same level of noise as that generated by a power lawnmower, a music concert, or an airplane coming into land.
The noise of a speedway race – a high-pitched buzzing that sounds like a cloud of angry hornets – is not the only nuisance at this meeting.
The noise begins at 5 pm with an announcer on the PA, continues with loud music, and the racing doesn’t finish until 10 pm.
That’s five hours of very loud disturbance on a weekday evening when you might want to relax in your home after a day at work.
How We Are Helping To Reduce Noise Levels
What can our client do?
As you might expect, conversations are underway with the stadium owners and the local council – it doesn’t seem unreasonable to suggest that some sort of financial compensation would be in order.
However, that does not solve our client’s immediate problem. We are analysing the noise levels generated by the bikes while racing, and the other sound sources, which will enable us to select and build the most suitable product that reduces the noise to bearable levels.
At Hugo Carter, we use the most sophisticated equipment available to identify precisely how and where sound is penetrating a property. That ensures the high quality of the solution we deliver.
We will work room by room to ensure our Oxford client takes delivery of the most appropriate solution – and we will not be surprised if we hear from many of his neighbours as well!