Junction 1 Festival to remove main stage after hundreds of noise complaints

Resident living beside a new music venue have made hundreds of complaints - because it's too noisy.
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Junction 1 was opened in the Oatlands area of Glasgow in June with a 5,000 capacity at the pop-up venue for music events.

But council chiefs have received 215 noise complaints over the past two weekends from furious locals living nearby.

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Over the summer, the venue hosted gigs and DJ sets, including a three-day festival that ran between July 29 and 31. The festival organisers came under fire when a host of headline acts cancelled on Satuday 30 July. Communication from the festival organisers was also criticised by attendees, as some claim they had heard nothing of these cancellations and showed up expecting the full line-up.

During the closing night of last month's festival, a Twitter user posted: "What the hell? Junction 1 taking the proverbial this afternoon and evening.

"Some of us have work in the morning. How is this allowed? Insane volume for being so close to residential areas."

Of the 215 complaints, 95 were received during the festival, but the council’s Environmental Health officials found the venue had not breached its licence condition.

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Organisers were asked to turn down the bass levels as environmental factors meant the sound was still excessively loud for residents in the surrounding area.

The council then received a further 120 complaints between Friday and Saturday at the weekend - and the venue was found to be in breach of the maximum decibel limit.

A Glasgow City Council spokesperson said: “We received 120 complaints about noise from Junction 1 over Friday and Saturday last weekend.

“Our Environmental Health team attended the site on both nights this weekend to monitor levels and I can confirm that the organisers did breach their licence conditions on Friday night.

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“Our officers instructed them to reduce the sound levels and they did so.

“However, a report will be submitted to licensing in relation to this matter and Environmental Health will continue to engage with venue organisers and internal partners in relation to the situation.”

A spokesman added: “As a result of this meeting, the main stage will no longer be used for future events. It will be removed and future events will be held in the smaller garden area and an indoor area.

“In addition to this, the licence holder will issue letters to residents in Oatlands and Rutherglen explaining the temporary nature of the venue and the steps which will be taken to address the noise complaints.”

The next event is due to take place on Saturday 13 August, and environmental health officers will be on site to monitor noise levels.

Junction 1 for comment has been contacted for comment.

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