The Award, named after the Society's founder, was presented at the Society's 50th Anniversary ceremony held at the House of Commons and recognises innovative ways to deal with the problem of noise pollution. Sharps Redmore was honoured for its forward thinking approach to solving the problem of extraneous sound escaping from the cricket ground and potentially disturbing residents in neighbouring flats.
Three Ateis Messenger L loudspeakers were specified by Sharps Redmore's Clive Bentley to achieve this goal. The management of the Brit Oval has always considered its neighbours but in these days of Twenty20 cricket and evening matches under floodlights, accompanied by celebratory music and fanfares at certain points in the games, even greater care has to be taken not to disturb them.
"We want to provide the best possible coverage and quality to everyone who comes to watch cricket at the Brit Oval, but we also realise that not everyone who lives nearby is a fan of the game, so we try to ensure that local residents are not disturbed or annoyed by sound coming from the ground," comments Clive Stephens, operations director of the Brit Oval.
The three Messenger L units are spread across the back of the Peter May stand, which is nearest to the majority of surrounding homes. "The controllable directivity of the Messenger means that the back-spill from the loudspeaker is pushed down at the same angle and doesn't travel straight back to the windows of the flats," explains Neil Voce, sales director of Ateis UK.
"We are very pleased to have played a role in this installation, which is a vindication of Ateis' commitment to the beam-style of loudspeaker design," Voce comments. "The Messengers are establishing themselves in the sports sector and this Award emphasises their place in the market."
(Jim Evans)
