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Neighbours fear concerts will become even noisier
Warning that Kenwood House events will drive birds from Heath
LICENSING chiefs will sift through more than 35 letters of
objection on Monday as they decide the fate of Kenwood House’s
controversial summer music concerts in Hampstead.
Each of the outdoor concerts, held annually in the grounds of
the Hampstead Lane house, can attract up to 10,000 visitors.
This year’s line-up includes singer Art Garfunkel, Abba
tribute band Bjorn Again and singer Russell Watson. Tickets
cost up to £40 a head, with conservation body English
Heritage taking a share of the profits.
Bosses at IMG, which organises the concerts on behalf of English
Heritage, have applied for a new permanent licence valid for
10 days every summer.
The application includes plans for a new sound-proof floating
stage, a pledge not to hold all-day concerts and proposals to
cut one concert from the programme.
But plans to raise the noise limit, as monitored at Fitzroy
Park, Highgate, have sparked protests from residents, who have
written to licensing chiefs.
Graham Wallace, whose Fitzroy Park home overlooks the Heath,
said: “The concerts have become increasingly noisy and
make it impossible to enjoy our garden or house for many of
the weekends in the summer. On top of the over-amplified music
the fireworks can be deafening.”
John Hunt, chairman of Marylebone Bird Watching Society, said
that two years ago noise from the concerts had driven out Hobbies,
rare birds of prey who used to nest in the woods.
He added: “There will be an inevitable reduction of bird
life in a wide area on the Heath.”
Tony Ghilchik, of the Heath and Hampstead Society, said: “The
concerts need to be appropriate to the location within a residential
area. Highly amplified concerts are not appropriate.”
Sir Charles and Lady Willink, who live in North Grove, Highgate,
pointed out that “it is unlikely any of the persons going
to previous concerts have complained of them not being loud
enough”.
Sir Charles, a housemaster at public school Eton, added: “The
proposal of a large floating platform occupying much of the
concert pond will be an eyesore, spoiling a listed landscape.”
But in a letter supporting the application, Paul Fishman, who
lives in Hampstead Lane, opposite Kenwood House, accused objectors
of being petty.
He said: “When you consider the 11 concerts (out of 365
days) which last for a maximum of 2.5 hours each, I do not regard
this to be an imposition, especially when they provide pleasure
to so many other people.”
In a statement accompanying their application, IMG bosses say:
“We and English Heritage are committed to ensuring the
operation of Kenwood concerts does not unacceptably interfere
with the personal comfort or enjoyment of life of the immediate
neighbours in the nearby community.”
They added: “The Kenwood concerts strengthen the community.
They are enjoyed by young, old, families, groups of friends
and people from diverse ethnic backgrounds.” |
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