Yes, this seems pretty serious. If you look at their website there are no race meetings listed for 2013…
I did forward this to a number of people yesterday…from a BARC official on the negotiating panel to all Friends of Mallory
Mallory Park - The following has been sent to all “Friends of Mallory” -
This mail is to bring you up to date on all activity related to the noise issues at Mallory Park/Kirkby Mallory and ask for your action if you value the continued operation of the circuit. I will keep this as brief and to the point as possible - although there is a lot to go through.
1: A small group of Friends and circuit management met on 13th December after an open invite (six attendees in total). The discussion was wide ranging and included the agreement Mallory came to with Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council on 2013 operation in November that was then subsequently rejected by the Liaison Group on behalf of the residents. The Council then refused to implement the November agreement as it did not have the support of the Liaison Group.
It is our understanding that this proposal was not put to the Kirkby Mallory residents en masse by the Liaison Group.
The abridged highlights of the November 2012 proposed agreement with the Council are:
The cessation of all motocross activity
Agreement to spend £100,000+ on the erection of minimum of 130m of acoustic fencing to reduce noise at various points on the circuit - subject to planning permission
Installation of noise monitoring systems to be put in place
Agreement to limit use of the Hairpin section of track on quiet days
10 x 2-day weekend events allowed per year
18 Saturdays per year at 98dba, no more than two of these per calendar month
40 race days per year
Saturday/Sunday quiet day agreed to 45-55dba
Weekday use - 3 per week, subject to ACU 105db and MSA 108dba levels
Two quiet weekdays per week agreed at 45-55dba
Special events e.g. Festival of 1000 Bikes require noise management plan to be approved and 2 compensatory No Use days the weekend following or preceding
An annual calendar of events to be agreed with HBBC and published on its website.
5-year review of new agreement or when requested by HBBC or Mallory Park.
Mallory Park’s interpretation of this is that a max usage per year by the circuit of 217 days, but due to the noted restraints and seasonality of the circuit activity, expectations are at approximately 160-days use per year - all with new noise reduction measures implemented (Background is that the circuit has been operating for 28-years since the 1985 agreement with anywhere between 160-220 days used per year at 98dba noise level or above). This November 2012 proposed agreement represents a 20% reduction on activity with increased noise control/reduction measures on recent activity.
Mallory Park is currently operating to this November 2012 agreement for 2013 and this is our favoured way forward if possible as it is financially viable.
2: Following the Council’s decision not to implement the November 2012 proposed agreement, Mallory Park then spoke directly to Garry Ball and the Liaison Group with the aim of coming to an agreement together with the residents and then presenting a untied front to the Council.
We met at Garry’s home on 23rd January and in Mallory Park’s interpretation the discussion was generally positive and there appeared to be a willingness to negotiate and come to an agreed way forward.
After this a number of communications went back and forth from both sides suggesting possible compromise operational levels. The basics of this discussion were:
The Liaison Group offered guidance advice on what it thought would be acceptable and would recommend or put to residents
After further clarification of the 1985 agreement and note of hard attitudes in the village, Garry advised that the responsibility to act now lies with the Council. Mallory agrees the Council is key to moving forward with a negotiated solution
The abridged details (in Mallory’s opinion) of discussions with Garry and the Liaison Committee included:
Mallory requested a special permit for the Festival of 1000 Bikes to be un-silenced due to the nature of older machines. There appeared to be willingness to negotiate to come to a solution here
Mallory suggested No Use days be re-classified as Non Motorsport and a DB level applied at 65db (normal road silenced car is rated at 80db). Garry indicated if residents cannot hear the activity then no problem
Garry had proposed an equal number of noisy/no use weekend days per four-week cycle. Effectively out of 16 days, 8 for use and 8 non use. Mallory requested this to change to 12 days use out of every 16 with an emphasis on the summer months due to seasonality. Garry then suggested 26x 2-day weekend usage as a compromise. Mallory Park is broadly agreeable to this
Liaison Group has no issue with Wednesday test days
Despite running at ACU/MSA noise levels for three weekdays for the last 28-years, the Council has now interpreted that noise levels must be 45db-55db. This is a significant change from previous understanding and the Liaison Group is supporting this interpretation. If applied, this is a significant threat to the operation of the circuit
Mallory requested the Windmill Field be used for a grass track demonstration during the Festival of 1000 Bikes and the rest of the year it would be for parking and camping only. Garry asked if Mallory could use the old moto cross track instead. This could not work as not flat enough to allow grass track riding
A full published calendar was agreed
No drifting at all at the circuit was agreed
Garry requires any new agreement to be enforced in law. Mallory is agreeable to this.
It is Mallory’s opinion that the above discussions were productive but the onus for agreement has now moved to the Council rather than with the Liaison Group. It is residents’ influence on the Council that will assist with further negotiations and solutions.
3: The Council has now served legal proceedings against Mallory Park for five breeches of the 1985 agreement from 2012. It has also indicated that mid-week the circuit can only operate on a Wednesday at noisy levels. It will enforce all positions from 1st April 2013.
4: Jason Newbury from the Parish Council met with John Ward and myself on 18th February to try and determine Mallory Park’s side of the story. We agreed to share what we could with him so that the Parish Council could display a balanced view.
5: On the same evening a letter from the Liaison Group was distributed to the village, provoking a vocal response from pro-circuit residents.
6: Moving forward
BARC is now taking legal advice on the court summons by the Council. I can say nothing more at this time as this is a very complex area of law.
It is clear that the Council has heard little support from residents supporting the continued operation of the circuit.
The circuit remains committed to working with residents and the Council in an attempt to remain financially viable and operational. It is prepared to negotiate as required so that all parties can move forward with confidence.
7: MALLORY PARK KINDLY REQUESTS
A: If you wish the circuit to continue operating, then please write to Steve Atkinson at Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council. He needs to know that there are residents that support the circuit. To help structure your communication to him, please consider the following discussion points.
B: Would you be agreeable to the operational levels mentioned in point 1 above? If yes, please tell him so.
C: If you are not agreeable to the above point 1 would you be supportive to a cessation of HBBC legal action and a short time-frame of negotiations to take place with a view to reaching a compromise solution that will allow the circuit to continue operating?
D: We request that you speak with your neighbours and ask them to write to the Council as well, based on the above A-C points.
The address to direct all correspondence is:
Or
Steve Atkinson
Council Offices
Argents Mead
Hinckley
Leicestershire
LE10 1BZ
If possible, so we can gauge residents’ opinion, please copy your mails to Mallory Park at [email protected].
I am available at any time to discuss the above or any other circuit based issue. I do hope that you can spare the time to write to Steve Atkinson and greatly appreciate your efforts to support the circuit. Mallory Park needs all the friends it can get in the village right now.
Thanks and hopefully speak soon.
Jason McClean
Further update… 
The planned public meeting to discuss the future of Mallory Park yesterday evening was called off after discussions between the various parties took a turn for the better.
Although no details of what the discussions were about have been revealed, a spokesman for the circuit said that ‘constructive negotiations have been taking place (with Hinckley and Bosworth Council) today.’
He went on to say there should be more information available in the early part of next week. This news may go some way to scotching the rumour that the circuit is up for sale to a large property developer
It amazes me that people buy houses near a race circuit knowing full well it’s there and that its been there for years and then complain about the noise , councils are all bonkers .
My partners Dad and his family live in Mallory village, not 100yds from the main gate. Ill get the villager insider views tonight, as Im sure if there has been an uproar in the village they would have been round knocking on everyones doors to gain support (mallory aint big).
They moved there 15yrs+ full well knowing the track was there and have always said it doesnt bother them.
Does make you wonder if its just a set up ploy to release the land for development…
Will report back what they know.
The circuit must be older than a lot of the houses in Mallory , more heritage lost for a Tescos .
Mallory and Combe are like time-warp circuits, such a shame that the NImby’s get to wield so much influence.
Not just limited to Motorsport either. I lived just down the road from a famous jazz venue the Bulls Head in Barnes. It had been operating as such for 45 years but when the police station next door got converted into swanky flats the new residents lobbied hard to get t shut down 
Remember Chris Meek is a property developer - maybe looking for an ‘honourable’ 
way out!!!
Edited to add:
Mallory Park owner Chris Meek is rumoured to be in talks with a large developer to sell the circuit for £8m for a 2200-home development should discussion with residents over noise restrictions fall through.
A handful of recently-retired people in nearby Kirkby Mallory have complained to Hinckley & Bosworth District Council about the amount of noise the circuit makes.
And a compromise set out by the authority would restrict the circuit’s active days to a degree where it would not be financially viable to operate. There is a meeting tomorrow evening in order to try and hammer out a way for the circuit to operate.
David Wilson Homes, owned by Barratt, had been linked to the sale but a spokesman for the firm this afternon categorically denied any involvement.
I would rather have a race circuit near my village than 2200 Barratt houses .
yeah their little quaint village isn’t going to be so nice after 2200 mondeo driving middle management types buy their barratts homes and drive through every morning 8.22 precisely.
I began my race career at Mallory Park nearly 30 years ago (ewww, is it that long?) so this news is particularly grim.
As has been said, the circuit has operated for over 50 years; we’re told that the complainers aren’t new residents, so it seems odd anyone who’s lived there for a long time should suddenly choose to complain.
There has been quite a bit of development in the village in recent years (I can think of a couple of housing developments that weren’t there when I was at the circuit regularly) and there’s always been a strictly-enforced noise curfew on race days.
Sadly this type of ‘noise pollution’ complaint is getting more and more prevalent of late. Another circuit currently afflicted by similar moans is Darley Moor, near Ashbourne, and Curborough sprint course near Litchfield is also under threat for housing development.
Reading between the lines of what’s been said (or at least, what’s been reported) for Mallory, it sounds very much like the complaints are a knee-jerk reaction from a small but vociferous group (aren’t they always?) because they perceive the circuit is trying to extend the number of operating days.
The main point you are all mising is that this is not really the residents who are complaining. It is the local authority threatening legal action because the circuit has been operating at levels well beyond the last formal agreement which was set in 1985 at a time when most race venues had the padlocks on the gate for most of the time. That permission needs to be renegotiated and the local residents need to be part of the negotiations. Many of the locals actively support the venue.
It seems that the circuit and the local authority are talking and that a new agreement will be reached in due course.
But, as somebody pointed out, if Chris Meek can’t run it as a race venue he’s quite capable of making a great deal of money out of it. That has been the case for years (Ever since Edwina died and he took it over) and the fact that it hasn’t menas that he likes to have his race circuit. I think that only complete intansigence from the local authority would get it closed down.
All IMHO, of course 
I actively supported the extension of Southend Airport, I bought a house next to it full well knowing it was there, the extension of the airport and the noise of planes were much better than the building of 3000+ houses and all the cars etc that would have brought into the area by the new houses, in my mind much worse.
I do hate people who get a house they could not normally afford because of the location, then complain about the location as it reduces the value of their property, 
I’d have said that was more dangerous as the LA has an interest in more houses as it would mean more council tax revenue which would most likely have a margin and hence more profit/comfort for them. Residents could have differing views but I’d have thought it going was far more in the councils interest.
yeah I live under the heathrow flightpath - strangely enough it was already there when I bought the place. 
The village i live in is just down the road from RAF Waddington , can you imagine complaining to the council about noise lol , if you buy a house near a RAF camp you will hear noise and thats anytime night or day any day of the week , its just accepted .
its a race circuit , there will be noise .
Ian, I agree. If the council do not approve an increase in the number of noisy days at the circuit then it is no longer a viable business, that’s why the talks are with the local authority. There are some moaning residents but most of them support the circuit.
Actually that’s quite funny Tim, it’ll be a shocker if they are not aware how those houses will be allocated… Everyone loves a bored teenager
I don’t think anyone is missing the point:
Yes, the local authority is threatening legal action, but for that to happen there must have been complaints;
Yes, racetracks need greater usage to be economically viable, but as the main increase for many has been track days where silencing is to road levels. So any complaints are effectively nothing different from increasing levels of road traffic (something that will certainly come if the circuit is closed and sold off for housing);
The circuit has been in existence for 50+ years. So if it isn’t newcomers who are complaining, then why have long-standing residents waited so long (and, indeed, lived in the same locale for so long) before moaning?
Mallory Park has been plagued by noise complaints for most of its existence. Indeed when Chris Meek bought the circuit from Grovewood Securities, one of the primary concerns way back then was to address such complaints;
Both the RACMSA and the MIA are aware of the problems. The MSA is ‘providing assistance’ to the track.