Plea for relief from Baildon cattle grid noise (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

Plea for relief from Baildon cattle grid noise

10:00am Tuesday 12th March 2013 in News By Chris Tate, T&A Reporter

Residents Greg Edgley (left) and Stuart Lancaster at the site of the cattle grid

Noise from a rattling cattle grid is making life a misery for residents who live nearby.

And physics teacher Stuart Lancaster is leading a scientific campaign to get the din reduced by recording the rumbles which constantly disturb domestic life.

Mr Lancaster has carefully recorded the decibel level reaching his family home in Moorfield Drive, Baildon, and has called on local councillors to take action and restore some peace and quiet.

“It’s just getting worse and worse which I think is due to wear and tear and the increase in traffic as people try to dodge bottlenecks in Shipley and Bingley,” said dad-of-two Mr Lancaster, 43.

“The noise of the cattle grid is particularly problematic for residents living close to it.

“I’ve recorded sound volumes in various places in the vicinity with a recording of 107.7 dB being taken in my garden.”

Mr Lancaster has sent his findings to Bradford Council and believes they show excessive noise for a residential area.

“According to the European Community directives and Defra, there is responsibility on the local authority to reduce environmental noise pollution,”

He also said cutting speed limits would help with sound and safety.

“As the father of two young children, the second problem is the speed and volume of traffic that Baildon is expected to accommodate,” he said.

“The speed of some cars as they pass the end of Moorfield Drive is ridiculous at times.”

He is calling for these suggestions to be considered:

* dampening the grid – rubber cushioning or coating – to stop the resonance

* reducing the length of the grid

* getting rid of the grid

* reducing the road width and grid to one lane, implementing one of the dampening measures and giving traffic priority to the cars leaving the village.

* making the speed limit in Baildon 20 mph.

Bradford councillor Debbie Davies said Mr Lancaster and others had contacted her about the noise problem: “One problem is we can’t just get rid of the cattle grid because although there may not be livestock on Baildon Moor at the moment, local farmers do have historic grazing rights,” said Mrs Davies (Baildon, Con).

“I’ve passed on residents’ concerns and council officers have been up to look at it. They have yet to make any firm commitment about what can be done.”