Speedway fate hangs in balance

A decision on whether there will be speedway racing at Western Springs stadium on Saturday should be made tonight.

Dave Stewart, general manager of Springs Promotions, said the decision would be made after a meeting with drivers and after the Auckland City Council had provided answers on points of clarification sought by the company.

This week, the Springs Stadium Residents Association won an Environment Court case forcing Springs Promotions to comply with noise limits.

The association is made up of residents of local suburbs who are fed up with the speedway exceeding the 85-decibel limit set by the council.

Those living near the stadium say the noise when the limit is breached is so loud that it is impossible to hold a conversation outdoors.

"It's like 100 lawn mowers going in your backyard," said spokesman Joe Caccioppoli.

Last month, the speedway was fined $300 for exceeding the limit at its first meeting of the season.

The council warned the promoter that it could be issued with an abatement notice or prosecuted under the Resource Management Act if it continued to breach the limit.

The council installed a $125,000 noise-monitoring system at the stadium in October in an attempt to enforce the limit.

But Mr Caccioppoli said the 75-year-old speedway had never complied with the limit.

He said the association had copies of complaints made by individuals to the council dating back decades.

The association was formed earlier this year after residents decided to band together to tackle the problem.

It has grown to more than 400 members from Western Springs, Westmere, Grey Lynn and Ponsonby.

Mr Caccioppoli said the association was not hoping to stop the racing on Saturday.

"Our intention all the way through has been to encourage the promoter to operate within the legal noise level. We have a number of members of our association who are very keen speedway fans and they do not want it closed."

Mr Caccioppoli said the noise made people living several suburbs away complain - even some North Shore residents heard the noise if the winds were blowing their way.

"I live over a kilometre away and we have not been able to have a family barbecue for 10 years on a Saturday night in summer."

He said people chose to live in the area knowing the speedway was there, but that did not mean they should have to deal with such obtrusive noise.

The problem was caused by the speedway breaking the law, he said.

The council has announced a review of the speedway, with deputy mayor Bruce Hucker saying he does not rule out moving it.