High school banned from using new $860K soccer field after neighbors complain about referee whistles

A high school has been unable to use its new $860,000 sports field — because the noise from referees’ whistles upsets the neighbors.
Cornwallis Academy in Boughton Monchelsea near Maidstone, Kent has a brand new 3G artificial grass surface which it has been forbidden from using since August.
But it’s not health and safety concerns barring its use – but rather the noise from the referees’ whistles disturbing locals.
It’s meant not only have the students been unable to use their pitch, but Cornwallis has been unable to let it out to community sides in the evenings and at weekends – cutting off an important source of income.
However, Maidstone Council’s initial whistle ban was not bureaucracy gone mad – but a policy originally advanced by the academy itself.
5 A secondary school has been unable to use its new $860,000 sports pitch — because the noise from referees’ whistles upsets the neighbors. James Gamble / SWNS
When the school first applied for planning permission for the new pitch in 2022, a key element of the plan was that the pitch would be made available to outside sports clubs after school hours.
The council was concerned about the increased disturbance this would have on neighbors.
The school could have offered to mitigate against the noise by constructing a complete acoustic barrier around the site, but instead produced a ‘desk-top’ – i.e. hypothetical – survey by experts.
This showed that the only real disturbance would come from the shrill sound of the referee’s whistle, and not, for example, from the cheering or jeering of supporters.
It therefore offered to introduce a ‘no-whistle’ policy at the pitch, for games played outside school hours.
There was no need for the ban to apply to school time games since neighbors already had to contend with that noise.
The council accepted the proposal, granting permission in January 2023 on the condition that a ‘no-whistle’ policy was applied.
But it never materialized and whistles were used outside school hours – with neighbors repeatedly complaining of the disturbance which now went on long past school hours and continued at weekends.
When one angry resident reported the council for failing to enforce its own planning conditions, the authority was obliged to threaten enforcement action against the school.
But because Cornwallis Academy had breached its planning permission, the pitch could now not be used at all – even during school hours by the students.
5 Cornwallis Academy in Boughton Monchelsea near Maidstone, Kent has a brand new 3G artificial grass surface which it has been forbidden from using since August. James Gamble / SWNS
Since then, both school and council have been trying to get out of the mess.
The school has produced a new noise survey by experts, taking into account a partial acoustic barrier now installed, that has shown that the use of the pitch causes no disturbance, or at least not an unacceptable level of disturbance.
Many neighbors contest that.
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Meanwhile, planning officers are now asking whether they had the power to impose a no-whistle condition in the first place.
Planning conditions must by law be reasonable, necessary and enforceable.
The council has no control over whistles being used on the existing grass pitches adjacent to the 3G one, and so it might not actually be able to enforce a ban on just the 3G pitch.
5 The council accepted the proposal, granting permission in January 2023 on the condition that a ‘no-whistle’ policy was applied. James Gamble / SWNS
As a potential solution, a new application asking for the planning condition to be lifted has been submitted.
Planning officers were poised to recommended its approval but the council’s own environmental health officer has agreed with the neighbours, labelling the level of disturbance “unreasonable and “intrusive”.
“This could lead to a substantial interference to residents’ rest and relaxation time over weekends, evenings and bank holidays,” he said.
Councillors will now meet to determine the issue at a meeting at the Town Hall later Thursday.
There have been 49 letters in support of the application to lift the whistle ban, with 19 opposed.
One noted: “It is very easy for people living nowhere near the school to support the application, but we come home after work and have to live with the noise.”
Another added: “Residents were assured that they would not hear any noise louder than mild conversation.
“We were in fact subjected to loud shouting, screaming, kicking of balls, whistles and fences rattling for hour after hour, seven days a week.”
“The disturbance makes it impossible to enjoy our own gardens in peace. We are unable to keep our windows open. The noise can be heard in every room in the house, even with the windows closed.”
Another complaint came from a mum who outlined the impact the lack of enforcement oover the “no whistle” policy was having on her son.
5 Councillors will now meet to determine the issue at a meeting at the Town Hall later Thursday. James Gamble / SWNS
She said: “Our son has ADHD and the bedtime routine is a huge part of his coping strategy.
“He simply cannot get to sleep with the excited shouting, whooping and whistle-blowing since the 3G pitch was opened.
“The sleep deprivation this is causing our son is making him grumpy, irritable, restless and he is having trouble paying attention at school, in turn this will have a detrimental effect on the outcome of his GCSE results as he is in year 11.
“The noise must stop for his mental wellbeing and ours.”
Dave and Val Sanderson, of Salts Avenue, are also among those who complained.
Val Anderson said: “We are reasonable people. We have no objection to the school use. It’s the out-of-school use that is making our lives a misery.
Dave Sanderson added: “The school set up a complaints line. I submitted an FOI and found they had had 125 complaints. There would be more, but people have probably stopped complaining because it’s so difficult to get through, and then nothing happens anyway.”
Mr Sanderson, who grew up in Salts Avenue and is himself a former pupil of the school, said that even with double glazing, noise from evening matches could still be heard inside the house – though he agreed it was swearing and cheering as much as the whistles that caused the disturbance.
Disbelieving the sound levels submitted by the school’s agents, the Sandersons have purchased their own sound-recording device.
Mr Sanderson added: “I’ve registered noise in the low 70s decibels in our garden – that’s greater than the school’s agents said it would be at the source!
“We fully accept the school was here when we moved in six years ago. It is not the school use we complain of; it is the use by outside clubs.
“The school has effectively turned into a commercial development. It’s like living next to a leisure centre.”
5 Trevor Wiles, of Hubbards Lane, said: “I don’t think the school – or their agents at least – have been completely honest in their application and I don’t think the council has checked it properly.” James Gamble / SWNS
His neighbour, Peter Stannett, said: “The noise was going on well into the evening – constant shouting.
“It used to be totally silent up here. But it’s the light (from the floodlights) that disturbs me as much as anything.”
Micaela Beesley was also concerned about the lighting and the noise, saying: “We could hear the noise from the games – not the children so much, but at the weekends. It’s the adults that are the problem.”
“There’s swearing involved and it can be quite loud.”
Trevor Wiles, of Hubbards Lane, said: “I don’t think the school – or their agents at least – have been completely honest in their application and I don’t think the council has checked it properly.
“At one point, the applicants claimed the school was in a rural location with no neighbours – how far from the truth can you get? That offended us!”
Cllr Simon Wales (Lib Dem) is one of the two ward councillors for the area.
He said: “This part of the playing field wasn’t used before the 3G pitch was installed and so the residents were used to their peace and quiet.
“Now it is and they have to contend with noise and also with the light from the floodlights, which although below the limit, is still a nuisance.”
He raised concerns complaints have frequently just been met with the comment “noted”.
“I’m not sure that a no-whistle policy was overly helpful for residents – or particularly practical – in the first place,” he explained.
“They needed some relief from the lights and noise – on and off the pitch – perhaps a better acoustic barrier and perhaps no games allowed on Sundays, just to give them a break.
“The best thing would be to get the school and residents together to solve this.”
A separate planning condition limits play on the 3G pitch to between the hours of 8am and 10pm, Monday to Friday, and between 8am and 6pm on Saturdays and Sundays.
Mason Dixon, spokesman for the Future Schools Trust which runs the Cornwallis Academy, said: “The inability to use our state-of-the-art 3G pitch since August has significantly disrupted our physical education curriculum.
“This facility is vital for delivering safe, high-quality activities, especially during adverse weather conditions when alternative outdoor spaces, such as grass fields, are unsuitable and unsafe.
“Furthermore, the restriction has unfortunately prevented local sports teams and community groups from accessing this much needed resource.
“Cornwallis Academy has always valued its role as a community hub, and we understand the importance of providing spaces that promote health, wellbeing, and social engagement.
“We are grateful for the upcoming planning committee meeting on Thursday, which we hope will resolve the matter and allow the school and community to fully benefit from this exceptional facility. “

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