The owners of Big Sheep in north Devon, U.K., have put up a warning sign asking people not to scream on the park’s main rollercoaster attraction. This follows complaints from people living nearby about the noise.
The rollerocaster in question is, perhaps unimaginatively, called the Big One. It opened recently over the Easter weekend. The rollercoaster is some 400 meters long and it reaches a height of 13 meters. According to the park’s website: “After years of planning and millions of pounds the “biggest, highest and fastest” roller coaster North Devon has ever seen has now become a reality and it’s at The BIG Sheep Family Attraction!”
Those complaining are the residents of village of Abbotsham. The residents had been concerned about the plans for the ride, and as such the planning process, between the local authority, the park owners and the residents, had taken four years. The village of Abbotsham has a population of a round 400 people. The village has one Post Office — which doubles as a General Store — plus a primary school, a church and a pub.
Interviewed by the BBC, theme park owner Rick Turner said the message he was trying to get across to customers was “unless they’re absolutely petrified, please please don’t scream too much.”
Ina separate interview with ITV the owner, straying into gender role stereotyping added: “We do love our neighbor and have put in a lot of noise reduction methods but we know that young girls especially love to scream so we erected the sign.”
He attempted to clarify further by adding: “We are located in the Devon countryside and most of the people nearby are retired and elderly and they don’t want to hear continuous loud screaming.”
The park has also employed an noise consultant, and is exploring the use of trees and directional speakers in order to minimize the sounds made from the park being heard in the nearby sleepy village.
