Boss can make stadium rock (but not too much)

Residents have protested against plans for two night-time concerts by the Boss at the football ground.

At a meeting at Islington town hall yesterday, councillors approved a licence for the two Springsteen gigs, subject to 23 conditions being met.

But they refused Arsenal's bid to hold a third event at the stadium during the close season.

The US singer is due to perform to 50,000-strong crowds on 30 and 31 May after the Premiership ends - the first gigs at the stadium in Ashburton Grove, Holloway, since it opened in 2006.

Conditions on the Springsteen concerts include an independent consultant monitoring sound levels; a stipulation that the noise does not exceed 75 decibels outside the ground; and a complaints hotline for residents. "Following the concert we will have a review with Arsenal and take it from there," said a council spokesman.

But residents remain angry the club announced the second concert without consulting community representatives.

The Rev Stephen Coles, vicar of St Thomas's Church in Finsbury Park, said: "It is very unfair on residents living around the stadium who will have to put up with the noise.

"I have no faith that a concert will be controlled to the level that it will only be audible within the stadium itself."

Labour councillor Theresa Debono said there were also concerns about increased anti-social behaviour. She said: "If you have thousands of people drinking and stumbling out of a concert it can only mean trouble. There is a feeling residents' views are not being taken into account."

Green councillor Katie Dawson said: "This is not Wembley, it is Islington. It is bonkers to put on concerts without first ensuring the noise will not disturb residents nearby."

In a letter to 3,000 local people and businesses this week, Arsenal's managing director Keith Edelman said the club was applying for permission to hold a limited number of concerts.

He added: "We are working closely with an independent sound consultant and Islington's noise team to ensure the levels set out in the planning permission will not be exceeded.

"We would like to stress that it is not our intention at present to run all-day concerts. The Bruce Springsteen concerts will be staged in the evening on both days and are restricted to finishing no later than 10.30pm."

Promoter Harvey Goldsmith said: "It's a fantastic stadium and the window to hold concerts is very small.

"Bruce Springsteen's gig at the O2 arena was sold out in three minutes and we are expecting 50,000 fans for each night. But we hope residents realise for Bruce you can expect a mature audience - they are not rabble-rousers."