Residents who live close to a farming business in Whaplode are claiming it is one of the noisiest places to live.
Some villagers who live on High Road, Kirkgate, St Mary’s Gardens and Green Pastures have complained to South Holland District Council over noise emanating from Lincolnshire Field Products’ High Road site.
The council says it is working with the firm to solve the issue and LFP’s managing director Robin Hancox says the company respects local residents and does everything it can to keep noise to a minimum.
In a letter to The Voice, one resident, who wishes to remain anonymous, said: “Sound equipment has been placed in a bungalow on Cross Street as they are woken from 5am to midnight by large farm equipment moving on and off site.
“The acoustic test reports that LFP is far too noisy.
“Steve Branson from South Holland District Council has been monitoring the situation but this has now been going on for two years and little has been done.
“Coun Malcolm Chandler and the police have also had meetings with managers but so far have been met with empty promises.
“Whaplode was once a nice place to bring up children but it’s become noisy, dusty and a dangerous place to be.
“Large farming businesses should not be in small villages and be allowed, without planning permission, to work around the clock.”
A district council spokesman said: “We have been working proactively with Lincolnshire Field Products following complaints about noise levels at the site.
“The company has employed the services of an acoustic consultant and has come up with a number of solutions for reducing noise impact on nearby homes.
“We will continue to monitor the noise from the site and work with the company.”
Mr Hancox said: “We respect the local residents and are doing everything we can to minimise any noise and disturbance.
“We have a good relationship with the district council and are working with them to ensure this.
“We have employed acoustic experts to make sure noise levels are acceptable and we have video cameras on site so we know exactly when people are moving on and off the site.
“We can start at 5am in the summertime but we never work until midnight.
“In fact it’s unusual to have anyone in the yard after 8pm most of the year, sometimes it’s 10pm at the latest in the summer when we are harvesting.
“We are running a successful business which has been around for more than 30 years and provides good jobs for local people.”
