Birmingham Carnival given go ahead by licensing chiefs
Birmingham Carnival, which attracted dozens of complaints about excessive noise and nuisance parking, has been granted a stay of execution by licensing chiefs.
Organisers of the event, which was attended by more than 60,000 people when last staged in 2007, must comply with several conditions if the future of it is not to be jeopardised.
They must ensure noise from the biennial showpiece in Perry Park, Perry Barr, does not exceed 65 decibels, that parking in nearby roads is more efficiently managed to enable residents to access their homes and that alcohol is served at restricted times and only from three designated bars inside the park.
The conditions were imposed at a meeting of Birmingham City Council’s licensing sub committee at the Council House yesterday ahead of the carnival on Sunday, August 2.
Heath Thomas, from Anthony Collins Solicitors representing the Birmingham Carnival Committee, said his client was employing a sound engineer, Muff Murfin, from Aston FM radio station, to monitor noise from the six sound systems which omitted 84 decibels in 2007 and led to 34 letters of complaint from residents.
Changing the angle of the speakers and the layout of the main stages and marquees are other measures the committee will undertake to prevent the sound from travelling out of the park.
The carnival, which led to only two arrests for drunk and disorderly behaviour in 2007, will be kick-started by a three-mile procession of colourful floats starting in Handsworth Park and taking in Grove Lane, Church Lane, Wellington Road and Walsall Road en route to Perry Park.
