Angry residents are bashing the city’s ‘loudest school’ that offers students unlimited playtime

Neighbors have urged the school to reduce the number of breaks and even considered legal action, saying the council had “washed its hands”.

A school was dubbed the “loudest” in a city after it was open six days a week and offered students unlimited playtime.

Manchester’s Kerem Shloime Primary School For Boys only closes on the Sabbath, allowing up to four and a half hours in the playground.

Locals have urged the boys’ Orthodox Jewish school to reduce the number of breaks and be more mindful of the neighbors whose gardens revert to the playground, reports Manchester evening news.

They accused Salford City Council of “washing their hands” of them and claimed there had been a surge in traffic at what they said was a nature reserve.

But the agency said it could not take legal action after concluding there was “no statutory noise or light pollution nuisance” and offering to negotiate between residents and the school.

Karen Corbett, representing Neighbors in Salford, said: “Not only do we have a problem with noise, but 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 nature reserve with minimal noise and traffic, but the community seems to be completely ignoring 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.

“A lot of the kids aren’t local so we get a lot of traffic when the parents come to pick them up, which we didn’t have here before. It feels like we’ve been stitched up by the council.

“We still do not have satisfactory answers to our questions to the school and the council. The school doesn’t want to know and the council has washed our hands.”

Kerem Shloime School has been officially granted permission to use the entire Back Duncan Street building on Sundays and Bank Holidays in June 2021.

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

Councilor Mike McCusker, Senior Councilor for Planning and Sustainable Development, said: “Salford City Council has fully investigated residents’ complaints using the powers conferred on us by the Environmental Protection Act 1990. In order to take legal action, there must be a legal nuisance.

“We are convinced that in this case there is no legal nuisance caused by noise or light pollution and therefore we cannot take any legal action. We have offered the services of an independent arbitration firm to all parties to attempt to resolve this neighborhood dispute.

“Participation in this confidential process is entirely voluntary. We are constantly monitoring traffic issues across the city and will take local residents’ comments into account.”

Broughton — the borough where the school is located — is 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 every year, accounting for 185 between 2019 and 2022 – all since the school opened without planning permission in 2018, neighbors pointed out.

Mirror Online has reached out to Kerem Shloime School for comment.