local residents overwhelmed by the nuisance of an electro festival
“It’s crazy to let an electro music festival take place in a residential area” protests Hugues Castella, member of the collective of residents of the racecourse. On May 15, this same collective translated a letter to the first city councilor of Toulouse, Jean-Luc Moudenc, asking him to take measures to limit noise and vibration pollution linked to the festival.
Overwhelming expertise
The residents hope to obtain a administrative closure or suspension of musical activity if a violation of the regulations is found. And for good reason, the Toulouse collective has mobilized professionals to assess the acoustics using sound level meters.
The conclusions of the acoustic expertise carried out at the request of justice are overwhelming. It has been clearly demonstrated that the sound levels measured among local residents greatly exceeded the regulations and that the sound limiter was supposed to prevent these overruns was circumvented from the start of the season”, explains Hugues Castella, interviewed by L’Opinion Indépendante.
Another point of tension, according to the collective of residents, “an indulgence towards the Pony Club contrasts singularly with the rigor shown by the town hall towards other organizers of outdoor electro music concerts” they write in their translated letter to Jean-Luc Moudenc.
They specify: “the concerts organized simultaneously on the sites of the Port de l’Embouchure, the Grande Plaine and Pech David for only two evenings per month have thus been purely and simply prohibited by the town hall while waiting for new sites likely to host these events […],” remarks the collective. Conversely, the Pony Club was able to perform more than 60 concerts throughout the summer of 2021 and is barely worried about starting a new season in 2022.
A confrontation between elected officials and residents reported on many occasions
The collective also deplores the lack of dialogue with local elected officials. And for good reason, the second meeting proposed by the district mayors Bertrand Serp and Marine Lefèvre at the end of the summer of 2021 was postponed several times before being scheduled for the last time on Friday February 25, 2022.
However, the district mayor Marine Lefevre informed the collective that the town hall wanted reschedule this meeting again in order to organize a preparatory meeting in the presence of the services and elected officials concerned and that a new appointment would be proposed. “Three months have passed since then and no new date has been offered to the collective,” lament the residents.
The Pony Club defends itself
For Amine Britel, boss of the Pony Club, sufficient measures have already been taken last summer to reduce noise pollution. “We have already made a lot of effort, he explains to our colleagues from The Midi Dispatch. We lower the music from 11 p.m. and close at midnight instead of 2 a.m. on weekdays and 3 a.m. on Saturdays. This is proof that we have heard the complaints of local residents. Some have recognized our approach, but there are those who are never happy. It turns into harassment.”
Amine Britel would also have invested in an acoustic cover 4 meters high which surrounded the perimeter in order to limit the decibels.
We have carried out an impact study and engaged in mediation with the town hall”, he specifies.
The boss of the Pony Club recalls in passing the economic stakes of his company. “About forty people work here and we return one euro per entry to charities”
While the conclusions of the expertise arrived late, the legal procedure will not allow the new edition of the Pony Club to be canceled on June 18. While waiting for the answer of the first city councilor of the Pink City, the group of residents living near the racecourse does not exclude taking action to make their grievances better heard.
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