PROPOSALS to curb noisy vehicle activities at an airfield near York will go to court this month - after it emerged that some drivers have been deliberately breaching noise limits.

City of York Council served the owners of Elvington Airfield with a noise

abatement notice earlier this year, following complaints about the "dreadful

intrusion" from cars and motorbikes being tested on the runway.

The authority said today it had been working with the owners, Elvington Park Ltd, to try to agree a noise management plan for the future.

A spokeswoman said

proposals put forward by the airfield were currently out to consultation and these, together with the council's own proposals, would be discussed at a court hearing on January 24.

It is believed the hearing will take place at York Magistrates' Court.

Elvington Park Ltd said it had responded to the abatement notice by commissioning a noise survey.

This had revealed that, while most events did not cause a nuisance "a few

individuals caused some unnecessary noise during some events".

Spokesman Ian Wormald said the company always expected compliance with noise regulations by event organisers, and it had been working with them to ensure this happened.

But Elvington Parish Council chairman Ian Bailey claimed there had been no significant change in airfield activities or noise from them - apart from a reduction in the amount of Formula 1 vehicle testing.

In his judgment, Elvington Park's proposals were nothing more than a summary of their current activities, which parish councilors had in the past considered did not represent a fair balance for the local community and the airfield owners.

He said he had called a special parish council meeting next week to prepare a formal response to the proposals. "I would expect we will press for amendments," he said.

A letter from City of York Council to the parish said Elvington Park, having appealed against the original notice, had withdrawn most of its grounds of appeal and was now seeking to develop noise control proposals.

The company said in its proposals it accepted a "statutory noise nuisance was likely to exist at the time the noise abatement notices were served", but it claimed that the nuisance was "marginal."

It said it had become aware some individuals had been intentionally breaching their club's own noise limit strategies by, for example, the use of nitrous injection systems, which were only switched on after their vehicle had been tested. Steps would be taken to prevent such breaches.

In the past, drag bikes and unsilenced vintage motorcycles had been used in certain events at the eastern end of the airfield, but the company was proposing to ban all unsilenced motorbikes.

Updated: 09:58 Monday, January 02, 2006