Motocross noise sparks anger in Black Isle community
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ANGER is building after a makeshift motocross track sprang up next to homes on the Black Isle – with critics arguing the engine roar can be heard miles away.
The track, at Ordhill near to North Kessock, has been irritating households around the area, with frustrated locals calling for the site to be licensed after claiming that the loud engine noises can be heard up to five miles away every weekend.
The track has been set up over the last few weekends on private farmland and into woodland around the houses at Ord Hill Farm. Organisers say that no money has been paid by motocross users to use the land, and therefore did not feel that they needed to seek permission to have a change of use for the field.
Complaints about the track being used from early morning until late in the evening every Saturday and Sunday have now been made to Highland Council, who neighbours hope will step in and close it down until it can be properly assessed through the planning process.
A number of neighbours spoke to the Ross-shire Journal, but asked to do so anonymously for fears of repercussions at making a complaint about the track.
One said: “We have had this track imposed on us without any consultation. I have heard that they were charging £20 per motocross bike on the track.”
Another said: “I live a few miles away from the track and I can still hear all the noise. It should never have been set up without permission. Some people think they are above the law, well they aren’t.”
The closest neighbour to the track, Morag MacNamara, said she had had a trailer-full of manure left outside her house after she made a complaint about the track and the behaviour of people connected to it.
Ms MacNamara said: “I am not against anyone who wants to go through the proper route to set up something like this. But a motocross track needs proper permission, and it also needs to be licensed and insured.”
Organiser of the track, Dave Munro (40) said that he had spoken to all the neighbours over the weekend and was feeding back their concerns to the landowner, councillor Jennifer Barclay and her son Christopher.
Mr Munro, from Forres, said: “We have had the track, which is basically a farmer’s field, in use over the last few weeks, and I know that local residents have had concerns about it.
“However, there are also a lot of lies in the community that are going around that are making matters worse.
“As far as I am aware there has been no money that has changed hands to use the field. We have talked about introducing a fee, but as far as I am aware that has not happened so far.
“This is not a free for all, we want to have a managed track here, and we have been speaking to specialists about sound barriers from trees so that it reduces the noise from the field.”
Mr Munro, who runs a motocross photography business, added: “I only recently took over this role to help make the track happen. Motocross often gets a bad name, but it is a good community of people. Motocross is an important outlet for many people and helps to engage young people and improve their mental health.”
Jennifer Barclay was invited to comment but had not done so at the time of going to press.
