To Complain about the Noise of the Holiday Club?

[GreenyEye]

First let me explain.

I live next to a primary school and the Village Green. One backs onto our garden, the other our front wall.

The school and green both get used for local league football out of hours, after school clubs...etc, they're always busy.

We are used to a certain level of noise during the day from playtimes and PE lessons and DO NOT HAVE A PROBLEM WITH IT.

However. The last 6 weeks, a local sports organisation/charity has had use of the school ground for Holiday clubs, all day, every day its been like living next to a football field, loud, overbearing shouting, chanting, whistles blowing, clapping, screeching, and occasional swearing..

We have had no let up and no peace, its been constant from 8am until 5pm EVERY DAY. Then the usual evening/weekend league football matches and practices.

Its really been too much, and SO much more noise than the schools PE lessons or after school clubs make

My DS is autistic and the noise has been too much for him and he's refused to come outside at all.

Its been intrusive and we haven't had a single days peace and quiet to just be able to sit in the garden with my own children and enjoy the occasional nice day, i'll honestly be glad when school starts again on Monday, we might get some peace and quiet.

I want to know if i'd be unreasonable to email or write to someone about it, to just point out how overbearing its been..

If i'm not being entirely unreasonable, who should I write to? The Charity, the School, the local Council? All 3?

Was the School there before you moved into your house?

Yes, as I said, its not the school noise we have a problem with, its the holiday club who're using the school grounds.

Even if the school was there before @GreenyEye moved in, @TantricTwist - how is that relevant to her complaint about the incessant noise from the holiday club?

Tantric the school isn't the problem it's the out of school club!

Yes, I'd monitor noise levels and complain. They don't have to do everything at top volume.

I've lived next to an after school programme, and have had to go over to ask them to tone it down a couple of times. There is a point at which it gets ridiculous.

And yes, it moved in there after me. Which I feel is beside the point, organisations should try to be good neighbours, just as people ought.

Whilst I understand your upset, unfortunately it is part and parcel of living next door to a school (I do fully understand as I live next door to a school, so am really fully with you) but as a school governor as well, I fully understand the quite frankly dire situation school finances are in and these lettings would have created a fair amount of funding for the school whilst it is closed-we are constantly thinking up ways to gain funding from lettings.

I’m not sure what you would gain from complaining to the school-the time to do that would have been at the time to the event leaders to see whether they were able to tone it down a bit at certain times of the day? It’s too late now but something to consider next time.

Summers over, it’s done now. Who will listen to your complaints now? No one.

What is the point the club is now over, you may had a point 6 weeks ago

I voted YABU, not because of the noise by the way.

Holiday clubs hosted in schools are a fairly predictable thing to have, especially primary schools. Them using the site all day for the days hired is reasonable. That will include some noise.

However, if the noise was problem then I would have called in earlier in the holidays, explained your situation and asked them to be a little mindful. Of course they aren't going to be able to change the very nature of the club but they could make small changes.

The fact you've let it be for 6 weeks and now want to complain means YABU.

It's really too late to complain. They won't do anything about it this year, and if they run it again next year everyone will have forgotten about it. If they do run it, it may be worth writing to them in the summer setting out the problems you had and asking them what plans they have in place to avoid any repetition.

Could you not take your son out somewhere quiet?.I get that the Holiday club is noisy ,but kids want to let off steam during the hols TBH!.If you want to you could complain ,but I doubt they would take a lot of notice .As someone up thread says Councils budgets are squeezed, and they need to make every hour the school is empty pay for itself!.See if you can make your family holiday at the same time if you can!