Overview
- Manchester and Salford Magistrates’ Court fined the parish council £100 and ordered it to pay £130,000 to two residents following a hearing on Thursday.
- The multi-use games area and adjacent skate park in Memorial Park were demolished last month after the council was found to have breached an abatement order in July.
- The facility opened in 2010 after community fundraising, but three residents—Dr Merren Jones, Stephen Covey-Crump and David Howe—complained about noise from ball strikes against the metal structure.
- An initial judge labeled the complainants “hypersensitive to noise,” before the High Court in November 2022 declared the site a statutory nuisance and gave four months to close or relocate it.
- The council said removal was the most sensible way to stop the noise and limit further legal costs, after six-figure fees led to an 86% council tax rise that proved unpopular locally.