Alton Towers noise battle case on hold

A COUPLE has withdrawn a private prosecution against Alton Towers over claims the park is too noisy.

Stephen and Suzanne Roper, who live in Farley next to the resort, were scheduled to meet with theme park officials at North Staffordshire Magistrates' Court in Newcastle on Monday.

They claimed Alton Towers exceeded limits set out in a noise abatement order, enforced in October 2005 after the couple won a private prosecution against them.

But their solicitor, Richard Buxton, said today: "Stephen and Suzanne Roper confirm that their prosecution against Alton Towers for breach of the abatement order has been withdrawn.

"The reason for this is that Alton Towers has explained that the subsidiary company responsible for operating the park has changed as a result of a corporate reorganisation so it is no longer right to prosecute the company against whom the abatement order was made (Tussauds Theme Parks Limited)."

Mr Roper said: "We were only told this by Alton Towers a few weeks ago after we had done a lot of work on the case.

"As far as we and others are concerned the nuisance is as bad as ever. The case is not over and we are considering how to ensure that this theme park operates as the planners originally intended it should – without "aural intrusion" on the neighbourhood and without, as the courts have twice decided it was, creating a legal nuisance."

Divisional director at Alton Towers, Russell Barnes said: "Of course We are pleased that Mr and Mrs Roper have agreed to withdraw their complaint. We have always sought to be a responsible and co-operative neighbour.

"We have made substantial changes to reduce our controllable noise sources, but there will always remain elements that we can not change, such as screaming; we are after all a theme park resort which encourages people of all ages to enjoy themselves. We always believed that this latest claim had no prospect of succeeding. It has been a very long, and no doubt very expensive, process for Mr and Mrs Roper with little or no benefit to anyone other than lawyers over the years."

The Ropers's anger has been focused on noise from the public address system, rides, firework displays and screaming thrill-seekers.

Theme park visitor Christopher McDonnell, a 28-year-old engineer, said: "It's not even that noisy inside the park. And even in the queues the noise doesn't seem to be over the legal limit. I can't see how it can be too much of a disturbance at a house outside of the grounds."