Brian Rudman: Leave the panic bunker behind and speed out to Manukau

What with the mayors going troppo and and all that parliamentary dirty linen flying about, former High Court judge Peter Salmon's recently released attempt to settle the Western Springs speedway debacle passed by almost unnoticed.

For Auckland Mayor Dick Hubbard that was probably a relief. Because Mr Salmon, like all those who have struggled with this problem before him, has been unable to come up with a solution that's going to satisfy everyone. Or, dare I add, anyone.

Agreed by the warring parties as an independent commissioner, Mr Salmon concluded "there is no doubt that a number of houses immediately adjoining Western Springs ... are subject to levels of noise in their backyards ... which would commonly be regarded as unacceptable".

He visited two houses during a race meeting and "the level of noise when standing outside was such that conversation was impossible and staying outside unpleasant".

"I think it highly probable that should an application be made today to permit car racing at Western Springs in a situation where no history of such racing existed, that application would be declined," he said.

However, because of the long- established history of speedway at the Springs, "this factor is entitled to considerable weight in determining a way forward".

But because racing cannot take place at noise levels low enough to be acceptable, he decided the solution lay in providing relief for residents in other ways - by limiting the number of events, for example, and by the city council paying for the sound-proofing of adjacent houses.

In that way, neighbours "can at least be comfortable inside their houses on speedway nights, even if they are not able to be comfortable outside".

He calls this "a common-sense solution to this problem".

Putting aside the common sense, it's less a solution than a lawyer's compromise which is unlikely to leave any of the parties happy for very long, if at all.

If I were one of the victims - who, Mr Salmon emphasises, are not to blame for their sufferings - I would be less than happy with a solution which in effect is to turn a room in my home into a temporary panic bunker. It has a "lie back and think of England" flavour which hardly reflects the section 16 requirement of the Resource Management Act which puts "the duty to avoid unreasonable noise" clearly in the hands of the noise-making landowner, not the victim.

And what about the dozens or hundreds of near neighbours, affected but not considered primary victims and therefore ineligible for noise-proofing?

As for the speedway operators, they're to be hog-tied by a maximum of 12 race days a season, with rules about the spacing of these days.

They'll also be forced to reduce maximum noise levels and police them, and to keep the volume knob of the public address system down.

To an outsider, it seems more like a lose-lose compromise, not a common-sense solution.

The common-sense solution is to admit speedway is not an urban sport and find a new home for it away from suburbia, just as the powers that be are looking to alternatives to Eden Park for rugby and cricket.

Manukau Mayor Sir Barry Curtis has been promising for years 61ha of council-owned land next to the Puhinui Reserve as the new home of speedway. Why doesn't the region finally call his bluff, and say, "you're on, Sir Barry"?

It could be a symbol of the Big Four mayors' alleged desire for regional co-operation.

This month, Auckland City admitted to having already spent more than $202,000 for legal, noise and other expert advice in the speedway spat.

And the bills are not yet all in for past work, let alone what might come.

How much more common sense it would be to cut Auckland City's losses and head for Manukau. Last February Sir Barry told me he not only had the land for a motorsport venue, but also "the vision and political fortitude to make things happen".

Now's your opportunity, Sir Barry. And with Western Springs liberated, perhaps it could become the new home of Auckland cricket, what with that sport being given the heave-ho from its historic home at Eden Park.

It's unlikely the thwack of willow on leather will register on neighbourhood noise monitors. But if strengthened glass windows were still on offer, it might be smart of neighbours to say yes.