Opinion: If pubs and music venues earn planning protection from noise, why can’t motorsport venues?
As Donington Park is about to get up to 4,250 new, potential NIMBY neighbours, why can’t it and other motorsport venues be protected from complaints?
When the government recently introduced planning reforms to shield pubs and music venues from noise complaints, requiring developers to soundproof new builds and sign disclaimers, it felt like a victory for British culture. Great. But a glaring question remains: if we can protect pints in pubs and punk bands, why shouldn’t motorsport venues receive the same protection?
Nowhere is this more urgent than at Donington Park. Developers have unveiled plans for a massive new settlement, Isley Woodhouse, just south-west of East Midlands Airport and Donington Park. It’s a staggering scheme: 4,250 homes, shops, schools, leisure facilities, sports centres, room for some 10,000 new residents.
That’s not just a Victorian dream, it’s a nightmare for motorsport venues. Just as the London music venue Moth Club fought a development threatening its gigs, Donington Park is watching a housing metropolis rise on its doorstep. Noise complaints could choke off race days, trackdays and testing - even events like Download Festival, which has been running in one form or another for more than 20 years, could be at risk.
Long-standing motorsport venues deserve protection too
Donington Park isn’t a postcode novelty. It’s rooted in British motorsport since 1931, hosting World Superbike, BTCC, truck racing, MotoGP (1987 to 2009), and the iconic Download Festival, not to mention two and four-wheeled track and test days as well as numerous other off-track events. Places such as this are cultural institutions, where young riders learn throttle control, families gather, and businesses thrive. Radical Motorsport, for example, recently relocated its headquarters to Donington, investing significant amounts in UK motorsport jobs.
At Donington, curfews are already imposed, even though the track pre-dates much of the housing that surrounds it. If the government is willing to protect pubs and music venues via planning reforms, the same principle should apply to long-standing motorsport venues. Protect tracks with soundproofing requirements, builder disclaimers, and planning clarity. It’s not special treatment, it’s consistency. Whether it’s a live music pub or a circuit, both deserve the chance to operate without retrospective restrictions.
What’s at stake if we don’t act?
Motorsport venues like Donington Park deliver culture, community, economic impact, and yes, noise. But we tolerate their roars because they’re part of Britain’s motorsport heritage and a business that generates jobs for local people and economic growth for the country as a whole. It’s time for policy to reflect that. If pubs and live-music venues can be given soundproof buffers and planning leeway, then motorsport venues should also. Otherwise, we’re saying that noise matters, but only if it’s not being generated by engines and excitement.
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Simon (AKA Toad) has been working within the motorcycle industry for more than twelve years, and a member of the motorcyclist family since birth. Growing up around British-built single and twins, it was inevitable that a life on two wheels was on the cards, from a very early age!
