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Village launches petition against noise from bikers

Lauren CollinsBBC News, South East
News imageBBC Various motorbikes queued up at a carpark in Micklesham, the font bike is blue and white with a dark coloured seat. BBC
Mickleham Parish Council says residents are being disturbed by "intolerable" road noise from motorbikes and custom cars

A parish council has launched a petition to install "acoustic cameras" in a Surrey village plagued by nuisance road noise.

Mickleham Parish Council said the extended opening hours of a local biker cafe was causing "intolerable" noise levels in the village and impacting residents' quality of life.

The petition, which has more than 1100 signatures so far, also asks for Mole Valley District Council (MVDC) to enforce a public space protection order (PSPO) in the area.

MVDC said it would consider a PSPO and was due to hold a public consultation into the issues.

Will Dennis, parish council chair, said: "Bikers have been coming to Rykas [biker cafe] for years and nobody has a problem with that but when new management extended the opening hours to 9pm a few years ago it brought a new cohort of younger riders who rev their bikes and pop their exhausts.

"The noise levels through our village and up the A24 has become quite unacceptable."

He added that a local speed watch group had also had abuse hurled at them.

News imageRichard Brown, a man with dark, greying hair and wearing a floral shirt frowns at the camera from the blackened doorway of a village pub.
Richard Brown runs The Running Horse pub in Mickleham and says the noise is a "disturbance" for guests and residents

Richard Brown, who runs The Running Horse pub in the village, said: "We've got lots of young families and older people living in this community and I think that's where the biggest issue is.

"They're getting disturbed at quiet times maybe late at night or early in the morning. It's not a nice environment to be around."

Rykas in nearby Box Hill, which claims to be Britain's oldest biker cafe, has been contacted for comment.

News imageTony Bland, a man in his late 60s with short white hair smirks at the camera with a green park in the background. He wears a black t-shirt with "I'm not old" written on it.
Tony Bland is a regular at Rykas in Box Hill and says bikers there "support being considerate" to locals

Tony Bland, 67, a biker from Meopham in Kent who visits the cafe, said: "I actually agree that it [noise] is a problem and I'm a biker.

"You get the cars on the custom scene and they time their engines to make this really loud back popping noise on the exhaust.

"It's a fad or a craze that's going through the custom car scene and it's a massive problem. Something needs to be done about that."

News imageA burgundy coloured sign in a cafe car park reads: "Loud pipes save lives, but not in the carpark. No excessive revving. Please keep engine noise to a minimum in the car park. Let's show respect to fellow riders, staff and neighbours."
Local biker cafe Rykas has erected signage to remind patrons to be respectful and considerate to locals

Caroline Joseph, MVDC's cabinet member for services and security, said: "We are considering whether to put in place a public spaces protection order (PSPO) in this area, which would specify certain prohibited anti-social driving behaviours.

"We need to first understand the reported issues further and are in the process of developing a seven-week public consultation due to launch in mid-September."

Surrey Police said it was aware of nuisance noise, anti-social behaviour and traffic offences in the area in the summer months and it had increased targeted patrols in the area at peak times.

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