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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
National
George Lythgoe & Katie Weston

Angry residents slam city's 'noisiest school' offering students unlimited playtimes

A school has been labelled the "noisiest" in a city after staying open for six days per week and offering students unlimited playtimes.

Kerem Shloime Primary School For Boys in Manchester only closes for the Sabbath and allows up to four and a half hours in the playground.

Locals have called for the Orthodox Jewish boys' school to reduce its number of breaks and be more mindful of neighbours whose gardens back onto the playground, reports Manchester Evening News.

They accused Salford City Council of "washing their hands" of them, claiming there has been a spike in traffic in what is supposed to be a conservation area.

But the authority said it cannot take any legal action after concluding there is "no statutory nuisance from either noise or light pollution" and offering to negotiate between residents and the school.

Karen, representing the neighbours, said the noise is 'almost constant' (ABNM Photography)

Karen Corbett, representing the neighbours in Salford, said: "It isn't just noise we have an issue with, there has also been a huge increase in traffic and a serious problem with light pollution from the school.

"Where we live is supposed to be a conservation area with minimal noise and traffic but the council seems to completely ignore this. The street is really not suitable for a school.

"The sound of children in the playground can be heard across the street from morning until six o'clock. The noise is almost constant.

"Many of the children are not local so we get lots of traffic when parents are coming to collect them which we did not used to have here. It feels like we have been stitched up by the council.

"We still have not had satisfactory answers to our questions to the school and council. The school does not want to know and the council has washed their hands of us."

Kerem Shloime school was formally granted permission to use all of the Back Duncan Street building on Sundays and Bank Holidays in June 2021.

Footage taken last year by local Jim Mooney captured the high level of noise heard from gardens and length of playtimes - with the film producer saying one lasted for four and a half hours between 9.30am and 3.30pm on September 12, 2021.

The street in Broughton, Salford, which sits between the school and neighbouring properties (ABNM Photography)

Councillor Mike McCusker, Lead Member for Planning and Sustainable Development, said: "Salford City Council has fully investigated residents' complaints using the powers given to us by the Environmental Protection Act 1990. To take legal action there must be a statutory nuisance.

"We are satisfied that in this case there is no statutory nuisance from either noise or light pollution and therefore no legal action we can take. We have offered the services of an independent mediation company to all parties to try and help resolve this neighbourhood dispute.

"Participation in this confidential process is entirely voluntary. We keep traffic issues across the city under constant review and will consider residents' comments as part of that."

Broughton - the district in which the school is situated - has come in the top five for noise complaints in 2019, 2020 and 2021, according to a Freedom of Information request by the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

The number of complaints has risen each year, making up 185 between 2019 and 2022 - all of which have been since the school opened without needing planning permission in 2018, pointed out neighbours.

Mirror Online has contacted Kerem Shloime School for comment.

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