More Complaints About Scarborough Train Depot Noise

A Scarborough resident has complained that noise from the TransPennine Express depot near their home has “stopped the enjoyment” of their garden.

In a long-running saga, TransPennine Express (TPE) has received further complaints about “noise pollution” emanating from its depot behind Seamer Road.

The £7m depot has been the subject of ongoing concern raised by residents and councillors since it opened in 2019.

Sue Rawson, whose home is around 300m from the depot, said:

“The noise surrounds and invades our home inside and out

“Gardening here at our home in Scarborough is blighted by the noise nuisance from the maintenance depot on Seamer Road and with the summer coming, it’s not fair.”

Sue Rawson told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) that she has lived in the area for almost 20 years but since the depot opened she felt “trapped” by the noise and called on TPE to “maintain its trains elsewhere”.

She added:

“The only thing really that I want to happen is for them to realise and accept that they have built a brand new depot in totally the wrong place in a residential area.

“It is the bottom of a very steep-sided valley which traps the noise with no soundproofing, and they should stop using it,” said Ms Rawson.

“They’ve made a huge mistake and they should just stop creating noise nuisance.”

A TransPennine Express spokesperson told the LDRS:

“This depot, which opened in 2019, provides essential operations to enable our services to operate to and from Scarborough, as well as having created new and high-quality jobs in the town.

“We have worked closely with the council regarding the depot, both in terms of securing planning permission from them and regarding ongoing operations.

“We have also clearly listened to and responded where feasible to feedback from residents and the council, introducing changes that avoid using the depot for operational purposes between 11pm and 7am save in exceptional circumstances which was a practical step taken by us.”

The Government recently announced that it would not renew the struggling rail operator’s contract and would nationalise the service at the end of May, with an ‘operator of last resort’ set to take over its service.

Councillors, council officers, and the local member of parliament have also been contacted by residents over noise complaints regarding the depot.

Commenting on noise from the TPE depot, the MP for Scarborough and Whitby, Sir Robert Goodwill said:

“The problem seems to be that they start the trains up early in the morning so they can turn the lights on so they can clean them.

“The trains are very noisy and they have promised that there should be an umbilical so they only need to start the trains when they need to go into the station.”

The TPE spokesperson added:

“We continue to hold discussions with the council on operational matters at the depot which we deliver in accordance with best practicable means.

“Our services, which are dependent on this depot, provide vital connections for residents and visitors to Scarborough, which in turn supports the local economy.”