Villagers who complained about ‘noisy’ football games awarded £130,000

Villagers who complained about ‘noisy’ football games at a children’s play park have been awarded £130,000.

The games area in the Memorial Park in Chapel-en-le-Frith, Derbyshire first opened in 2010 after a community fundraising campaign.

But soon after, three residents, Dr Merren Jones, Stephen Covey-Crump and David Howe, lodged complaints with Chapel Parish Council about the noise of ‘bouncing footballs’ hitting its metal sides.

They took the local authority to court in 2021, claiming the area breached planning guidance because it was ‘built in the wrong place’ just a few metres from the nearest house.

After years of legal battles, the council finally admitted defeat and last month diggers moved onto the multi-use games area (MUGA) and started demolishing the pitch.

To add to the reported ‘six-figure’ legal fees, Chapel Parish has now been ordered to pay £130,000 to two residents following a hearing at Manchester and Salford Magistrates’ Court on Thursday.

Carly Dunningham, who has a 10-year-old daughter, said: ‘We are dumbfounded by this decision to demolish the MUGA.

‘A facility for the community has gone, so I would like to ask them (the people who complained) how they feel?’

Stuart Barber, 78, said: ‘I think it’s a bit childish what they’ve done. It should have been kept, a lot of people used it.

‘Such a small group of people have managed to change something so petty, it’s a joke.’

One mother said: ‘I’m gobsmacked that a case like this even got to court and these moaning killjoys have won.

‘Youngsters need facilities like these and to be encouraged into sports and the majority of residents welcomed it. Instead the minority have prevailed and we find it very sad.’

Mother-of-one Sarah, 51, added: ‘I used to bring my son here when he was a toddler. He’s 13 now and he would have used it during the winter. Loads of kids used it.

‘It was a shock to see the bulldozers tearing it up. It’s sad really because it’s yet another place where kids can’t go.

‘You’re talking about getting kids into sport and it’s taking it away.’

Another resident fumed: ‘I live near the park and it was lovely hearing children playing and kicking a ball about.

‘I can’t understand the mentality of some people who expect complete silence while living next to a public park.

‘What is just as galling is I know that one of them [the complainants] has moved away from the village and I understand is now living in a city which is hardly peaceful.’

Grandmother Stephanie Ashton said: ‘My grandkids come here to play football as they’ve got friends in Chapel as well.

‘It’s good for them to be out in the park rather than playing on their iPads. Every time you came to the park there were always kids on it.

‘I wouldn’t say it was noisy at all, they were just generally playing football.

‘All they needed to do was put soundproofing around and that would’ve cured it. You get shouting in every town and village.’

A judge initially ruled the complainants were ‘hypersensitive to noise’ but the High Court overturned the decision in November 2022 after the three locals argued the park caused a ‘statutory nuisance’ as a result of ‘ball strikes, kicks and bounces’.

The council was given four months to solve the noise problem by either closing the  site or re-installing it further away from homes.

In the meantime, it hiked taxes up 86 per cent to help pay the hefty legal fees, a move unpopular with locals.

But the local authority was found guilty of breaching the abatement order in July and decided to tear down the games area and skate park.

The Daily Mail has approached Chapel Parish Council for comment.

The local authority previously stated on its website: ‘Following a recent court hearing, the parish council has made the difficult decision to remove the MUGA from the War Memorial Park.

‘This decision has not been taken lightly, and we share in the disappointment felt by many in the community.

‘However, we believe it is the most sensible course of action to abate the noise and resolve a five-year legal process thereby avoiding further legal costs.’

Richard Buxton Solicitors, which represented the three residents, previously said: ‘The parish council installed the MUGA in the wrong place to begin with.

‘It has taken 15 years and prolonged legal proceedings to get the parish council to resolve its error.’

The legal firm added there had never been any claim for compensation against the parish council.