ALTON Town Council has been warned by specialist sound experts that going ahead with its proposed location for a new skatepark could cost it a lot of time and money.

Ed Clarke, technical director of a Winchester-based acoustic consultancy firm, was employed by a group of residents of the Anstey Park area, to assess their suspicions of a possible noise nuisance caused by the siting of the new facility.

Mr Clarke made his comments at the town councilÕs meeting last Thursday, attended by more than 40 members of the public.

Mr Clarke has represented both local authorities and residents in previous skatepark disputes, and said of this particular dispute: ÒRather than being a knee-jerk reaction to something in their back yards, at this distance, itÕs too close to go in anyoneÕs back yardÓ.

He also stated that if the skatepark was placed 200 metres from the nearest residential property, then the noise levels would usually be acceptable. Anything less than this, and some sort of soundproofing would probably be required.

According to figures calculated by the residentsÕ group, the proposed site lies 24.9 metres away from the nearest residence.

Mr Clarke gave an example of a skatepark in Oxford, where such a facility had to be closed and relocated when this distance was 40 metres. Perhaps most worrying for the town council, however, was a case in Devizes, where a skatepark located 35 metres from residential properties caused such a nuisance that the local authority was not only forced to shut the skatepark, but was also forced to pay out £150,000 in compensation.

Speaking after the meeting, residents group representative Alistair Henderson, said: ÒDuring the presentation, we submitted a list of questions that the council are obliged to answer. However, they never even attempted to answer them, saying that the public section of the meeting was going on too long.

ÒOnce the presentation was given, David Willoughby said that they were a long way from making a final decision, that many factors still had to be considered, and that we (the residentsÕ group) didnÕt know exactly where the proposed site is going to be, what size it will be and how much it will cost. That kind of dismissiveness, to me, epitomised the way that the council are currently thinking.

ÒWeÕve done all we can do so far, and we are now looking a various avenues of complaint if things need to be taken further.

Alton town clerk Steve Parkinson responded: ÒThe town mayor generously allowed the residents extra time at the beginning of the meeting to make their case.

ÒRegarding the questions that werenÕt answered, lots of the questions were very specific and technical, with regard to an exact location. Since no exact location has yet been decided, we didnÕt see the point in taking the time to deal with each question individually.

ÒMany had been answered already in letters , and some we do not have answers to at this stage. Those who have written will receive a response, but it may take a little time.

ÒClearly, lots of issues have been raised, some of which councillors felt were not particularly valid, but some, such as a possible noise nuisance and the skateparkÕs distance from residential properties, need further investigation once the actual equipment has been decided on.