Haringey (Parliament Politics Magazine) – Highgate residents are urging a local temple to reduce festival noise and litter, citing growing disruptions as Haringey officials review their concerns.
Highgate Hill Murugan Temple has been the target of noise complaints from Wembury Road locals.
Residents, council members, and temple trustees will gather at the Haringey Council to address the concerns.
Alex Pollak, a resident who moved to the street about two years ago, said he was “surprised” by the problems.
Alex said:
“They should do the festivals, enjoy them, I’m supportive of that, but what has frustrated us and it’s true for other residents on the road, they’ve had these festivals but they don’t really respect the people that live on the street.
Some of the festivals have been disruptive, really noisy, going late into the night and it’s not even the noise, it’s also the rubbish left on the street.”
According to Alex, the tabernacle hosts about twelve festival- style events each time, the utmost of which take place in the summer and fall. Residents have complained about hearing the fests last night and, most lately, around five in the morning. Some celebrations last up to five or six days.
“We tried to bring this up with the council,”
Alex said.
“I actually put some of the blame of this with the council, less so with the temple. We’ve raised this with the council a number of times and put in noise complaints.”
But according to Alex, the council “did nothing.” He claimed that after speaking with the council’s noise platoon, he discovered that although the noise had n’t exceeded noise regulations, the council had” come out” to probe” on one occasion.”
Alex described the noise as” drumming, cornucopias, it’s a full on jubilee” and said the council had not surfaced when it was at its loudest.
He added that he’d spoken to the tabernacle” a many times,” but nothing had changed, and now the locals are allowing about file an action.
After fests, fly- tilting is also a problem, with “boxes of food” ” lying around.”
A council spokesperson said:
“We acknowledge the concerns raised about noise and fly-tipping at Murugan Temple and are actively engaging with residents and the local community to find solutions.
Later this month, we will meet with residents, [Highgate ward councillor and Liberal Democrat] Scott Emery, the temple trustees, and council officers to listen to their views and work together towards resolving these issues.
We have also proactively deployed additional crews to clear dumped waste and issued enforcement notices for fly‑tipping where evidence has been identified, increased monitoring, as well as a range of other measures.
We encourage all residents to support us in tackling waste dumping across the borough. If anyone has information that could assist in identifying those responsible, please email our enforcement team in confidence. Reports will be logged, allocated to an officer, and investigated with feedback provided.”
What steps can Haringey Council take to enforce noise limits at the temple?
Haringey Council can apply noise limits at Highgate Hill Murugan Temple through statutory examinations under the Environmental Protection Act 1990, issuing abatement notices, fixed penalty notices, or outfit seizures following resident complaints.
Council’s Environmental Health team assesses complaints via noise monitoring at affected parcels (e.g., Wembury Road), attesting” statutory nuisance” if situations exceed guidelines like LAeq, 16h 55dB day or LAeq, 8h 45dB night- time, also serves a formal warning notice specifying reduction timelines (at least 10 twinklespost-service).
Fixed Penalty Notices (£110 for residences, £500 for certified demesne, outstanding within 14 days). execution (forfeitures up to £1,000 for residences, unlimited for licensed spots). Seizure of noise outfit like speakers. Temporary noise limiters,pre-event sound tests, and on- point monitoring brigades can be commanded via demesne licenses, as in previous Haringey cases.