A FAMED Devon karting track is seeking to secure a new legal agreement that would govern how it operates even as residents complain it’s breaching existing rules.

Claims have been made by a group in Sheldon that Dunkeswell Raceway, previously owned by F1 star Nigel Mansell, has run three-day events when it isn’t supposed to, and held races where too many karts are racing at one time.

David Dow, a Sheldon resident and member of its parish group, said a legal agreement struck in 2010 between the raceway and East Devon District Council is meant to put certain restrictions on the attraction.

Other rules are included in various planning applications granted over the years.

But Mr Dow claims there have been various breaches under the current director, named as Sergii Gavryliuk on Companies House, and has raised fears the business is trying to make the restrictions it operates under looser through the planning system.

The raceway has submitted four planning applications to the council as part of a bid to secure a new agreement for it to operate under.

Crucially, it wants to increase the number of race days from 33 a year now to 39, albeit it would finish an hour earlier than the current rules allow, and it wants to double the number of karts that can run at the Raceway to 24.

A letter from its planning agents, Bell Cornwell, states: “We have been instructed to submit a number of applications, the purpose of which is to vary several existing permissions in order to allow the pattern of karting operations at the raceway to be varied.

“In addition, it is proposed that the related legal agreement, which also imposes controls on operations at the Raceway, is also discharged in order that a wholly new agreement can be put in place.”

It called the existing system of control “very inflexible and bureaucratic”, and suggested a new system could allow “for the periodic review and, if necessary, change of the agreed parameters by both parties”.

Mr Dow claimed the raceway, which has been running in some form since the 1970s, had held three-day events “disguising Friday as testing and trialling” even though it is not meant to, and that rules which require it not to operate between 11am and noon on Sunday, and not to race more than 12 karts simultaneously, had also been breached on occasion.

He claimed East Devon District Council had “failed to enforce the legal agreement”, and that the resident group had held “amicable but not very useful meetings” with health and safety staff at the council.

A spokesperson for East Devon District Council said it had investigated the complaints raised by the residents.

“While some activities at the track exceed those permitted in the Section 106 agreement, the noise levels witnessed by officers are not intrusive and do not constitute a statutory noise nuisance.”

Asked why no enforcement action had been taken due to the breaches, the council stated that the as yet undecided planning applications were a factor.

“Under our planning enforcement policy, it would be inappropriate to take formal legal action while these applications are under review, as doing so could waste public fund where any harm is limited and may ultimately be deemed acceptable [if the planning applications are approved],” a spokesperson said.

“However, we have reminded the Raceway operators of their obligations and pressed them to comply with current restrictions, resulting in some event cancellations.

“The situation will be reviewed once the applications are determined.”

The resident group has also written to their MP, Richard Foord (Liberal Democrat, Honiton & Sidmouth), and made a complaint to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman about the council’s handling of the issue.

“Despite all this, the noise disturbance and the mental harm to local residents goes on,” he said.

The council added it was currently seeking advice from a senior lawyer in the King’s Counsel about how best to proceed in terms of creating new rules to govern the Raceway.

The Sheldon residents are also understood to be seeking assistance from a senior lawyer to potentially represent them at any future East Devon District Council planning committee meeting that discusses the Dunkerswell Raceway applications.

A spokesperson for Dunkeswell Raceway said it did not wish to comment at this time.