Half a mile or so away from the sleepy little village of Ashover, in Derbyshire, lies Butts Quarry, one of the oldest motocross tracks in the country. But soon, if a small minority of NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard) villagers have their way, the MX track will be no more. Because, as is so often the case when people move within earshot of a race track, a handful of them who would rather it wasn’t there are trying their best to have the council shut it down. But the Dring family, owners of the venue, are determined to fight it every step of the way.
I don’t know about you, but I get really, really angry when I hear stories like this. How can anyone want a venue like this closing down? A venue that’s been welcoming motorcycle enthusiasts partake in their passion for decades. If you’re not into motorcycles, that’s fine, but why must you piss on everyone else’s chips, just because you can hear them enjoying themselves when you’re not?
Perhaps you’d prefer it if these men and women, boys and girls, didn’t have anywhere to go and ride their off-road bikes legally. I suppose they could always use the street outside your house. Would that be less of a nuisance? It’d be your own fault. And you’d deserve it.
Gas it
I was lucky enough to spend a day at Butts Quarry late last year (2021), riding GASGASs latest crop of off-road bikes. It was the first time I’d ever been there, and let me tell you, it’s an absolutely awesome place. If you weren’t going there, or nobody told you it was there, you wouldn’t notice it. It’s tucked away in an old quarry, out the way, all full of trees. And with all those trees, I can’t imagine the noise travels that far, even on the busier days.
In the case of Butts Quarry versus the village people, the village people have already won, really. In an attempt to appease the locals, Butts Quarry MX have already agreed to limit their open days to one in every 14, and only between the hours of 9am and 5pm. Imagine trying to run a business that you were only allowed to open once a fortnight.
The case was considered closed by the council (and by the Dring family) nevertheless a fresh abatement notice arrived two days before Christmas (2021). Yep, two days before Christmas in, as far as the Dring family are concerned, a deliberate attempt to make their appeal more difficult. But they will appeal the abatement. They will fight it with confidence, according to a statement by Barry Dring.
Join the fight
And you can help Barry and the Dring family save Butts Quarry from the NIMBY crew. All you have to do is sign the petition created by Barry, which is already at 14,900 signatures. Of course, even with 100,000 signatures, there’s no guarantee the NIMBY brigade won’t have their way; yet another fantastic motorsport venue could still be closed. But every little helps, and the more people that join the fight the better. Do you want to be part of the fight? All you have to do is click here to find Barry’s petition, and put your name down.
Because, of course, it’s not only Butts Quarry that’ll be affected by the decision to close this venue. The ramifications are far reaching. The more measures that are put in place to quell the activities at race circuits, and the more that are closed down by NIMBY arseholes, the stronger the precedent becomes for exactly that type of thing. Before you know it, there will be no more race circuits in the country. And then it won’t just be motorsport venues. They’ll want anything shutting down that makes a sound. Football stadiums, music venues, aerodromes, pubs, schools, shops; where do you draw the line?
So let’s nip this in the bud, right now. Right now, before our very way of life is eroded into dust, just because some boring pricks like the peace and quiet.
7 responses
you think this is bad (which it is), Basingstoke actually lost a new Hospital, which included a state of the art Cancer treatment facility, right by the M3, near Dummer (Rich Tories) in a rural location, the plan was rejected because the noise of Ambulances and the odd Air Ambulance landing, C***s the lot of them.
Look what happened to East Fortune.
Technically, the track will have a permission under which it operates which will have a condition attached stipulating the noise limits and operating hours. As long as they are within these limits then it can’t be considered a ‘nuisance’ and enforcement action taken. If they’re trying to get rid regardless of permission compliance, id suggest hiring an acoustics expert to undertake a ‘noise impact assessment’ which will measure the noise from the quarry from ‘sensitive receptors’, (ie nimby knob head houses) and use established guidance/ best practice to work out whether it’s enough to warrant kicking off over. This would also take account of the fortnightly frequency and would be concrete evidence rather than subjective nimby whinging.
People like this really grip my s4!t! What sort of bell moves near an established venue and then complains about it!
Not bike related but I live near Manchester city centre where there are some mega music venues. One venue called band on the wall was recently served a similar notice, this bar has been there for 30+ years hosting live music. Some NIMBY moved into the flats close by last year during lockdown when all bars were quiet, now it;’s fired up again the NIMBY has made several complaints and now the bar’s licence is on the line.
I blame the councils, they need to man up/nut up and tell these nimbys to behave themselves and apply some common sense
Would they have been happier if it was still a working quarry with blasting and large machinery running around every week day or an occasional weekend disruption!
I know what i’d prefer.
I know you shouldn’t generalise but i guarantee the people will be part of some rambler group, the same groups that are trying to stop riding on green lanes, they need to get a life.
Signed and shared. Good luck, from a Devon Green Laner.
Hi, I am a resident in the village of Ashover and I wish to add it is only a small minority of residents making the complaint. The majority of the complainants are new residents to add insult.
I brought both my sons up racing junior MX and would add this made them better people, they are now in there 30s.
We can hear the MX meetings from where we live and this is a call for me to get down there and watch the racing.
N.E.Derbyshire council are absolute arseholes to deal with and I can only
sympathise with Barry’s struggle with those morons