A row has erupted over excessive noise... made by canoeists!
Halifax Canoe Club in Sowerby Bridge has been attracting complaints from a nearby resident, who claims users of the club have been shouting him awake early in the morning and late at night.
Michael Warner, who lives in Winton Mills which overlooks the club, believes he has the support of his neighbours in his fight against noise from the club.
He said: “It has been going on ever since I moved in here in August.
“I have always said it is only a minority at the club that have been an issue, but there are people shouting at the tops of their voices early in the morning and waking people up.”
He said he has complained to the club numerous times, but they eventually stopped responding to him. It wasn’t until he complained to local councillors that he received an apology.
“I understand the rapids are quite loud,” he added. “People will sometimes have to shout over them to make themselves heard, but the noise that they are making sometimes is way above an acceptable level.”
“In an ideal world, I would like to see some rules in the club’s code of conduct which stops them making so much noise.”
Coun Adam Wilkinson (Lab, Sowerby Bridge) said: “I have been in touch with the secretary of the club, and they say they are doing anything they can to work with residents there.”
He added the club put a message on its facebook page recently telling its users not to make excessive noise.
Chair of the canoe club Victoria Bradford-Keegan said: “We are sorry that the single resident of the Mill complex that has contacted you is unhappy that he shares the site with a long established canoe club and that there are people regularly using the river adjacent to his property, both members of the general public and the canoe club.
“We have tried our best to solve these matters amicably and it is unfortunate that our neighbour is unhappy.”
Earlier this year the club celebrated its 50th birthday.
It was also announced that Halifax Canoe Club was awarded more than £60,000 in funding from Sport England to improve the facilities on the site.