By Tom Mark

Lavington Cherry Orchard Under Review

Jan 29, 2018 | 12:58 PM

The BC Farm Review Board is holding a 2 day public hearing in Vernon today and tomorrow into a Lavington cherry orchard.

Neighbours complain the frost fan noise coming from the Coral Beach Farms operation since it was developed about 2 years ago is unbearable.

“They come on, one, two o’clock, whenever the weather conditions make them come on automatically in the spring. It’s sleep deprivation, you can’t sleep.”

Bob Learmonth says it’s not just the frost fans that are the problem.

“The frost fans get to 82 decibels. The turbo sprayers get to a hundred decibels. So do the helicopters. But the thing with helicopters, they only fly during daylight.”

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Learmonth says the topography of Lavington is like a bowl and that traps the noise and it travels.

“So the whole of Lavington is subjected to this noise, not just me and not just the people that have boundaries with the orchard. Whisper Ridge is across the valley. They’re most of a kilometre and a half and they’re all upset about the noise too.”

He’s put together a comprehensive power point presentation to make before the board panel.

“Not a very good place to put an orchard because of the lay of the land and how the noise travels. And then I have a half a dozen videos with audio that clearly shows the extreme amount of noise.”

Learmonth says he’s spoken to the owners, but they don’t care.

He says the owner could use quieter equipment to replace frost fans and turbo sprayers, but won’t.

The hearing goes today and tomorrow at the Prestige Inn and is open to the public.

However, only individuals or groups who have made prior arrangements are allowed to speak.

by Tom Mark