Youtuber causing noise nuisance says he's here to stay

PLEASE cut out the noise. That’s the message residents of Stratford are sending to a YouTube star who since moving to the town has plagued neighbours with excessive noise from cars and motorbikes.

Ryan Taylor, a 29-year-old professional BMXer, YouTube star and businessman from Walsall, moved to Church Farm on Seven Meadows Road in the summer.

Since then, residents claim they have been subjected to the noise of revving engines from vehicles being driven on land adjacent to Ryan’s home.

Footage is uploaded to YouTube, where Ryan has more than two million subscribers, showing vehicles being driven across a dirt track, day and night, as well as pranks and Ryan giving away cars.

Other footage also shows Ryan revving the engine of a Nissan GTR in Stratford High Street and in Union Street, telling his viewers how the exhaust is so loud it could perforate ear drums. When people complain about the noise, including a parent of a child, he tells them it’s not his car.

Residents in Old Town want the noise and disturbances to stop.

One resident, who wished to remain anonymous, said: “The noise started in about June.

“Obviously everyone’s been working from home, and you can sit inside with the windows shut and still hear the noise. I can hear it and I live a fair bit away from the place.

“We have quite a nice, local community and you generally feel safe and that you can enjoy your garden and the surrounding areas in peace and quiet. He just obviously has no respect for anything.

“You have a right to quiet enjoyment of your property and he’s certainly not allowing anyone that. It’s disgusting. He’s being allowed to get away with terrorising the community and then documenting it, with nothing being done.”

Another Old Town resident said: “It’s not like it’s a faint noise, it really resonates through the whole property. You can’t ignore it. He was away a couple of weeks ago and it was lovely and quiet, but you knew when he was back because you could hear the cars.

“You can’t escape it inside, and of course if you’re outside it’s ten-times worse. It’s just constant background noise. It’s very frustrating, it makes you jumpy and you basically can’t relax.

“He just hasn’t got any boundaries.”

Stratford District Council said it has received a number of complaints about the noise as well as anti-social driving at an address on Seven Meadows Road. A spokesperson said the council was “working with partner agencies to resolve this matter”.

Cllr Jenny Fradgley (Lib Dem, Guildhall) sent a letter to residents explaining that a community protection warning letter was sent to the property on 28th October, which required the land to be used by agriculture vehicles only.

However, the letter added: “Given that we have no confidence that this will be complied with, we have had meetings with our ASB (anti-social behaviour) team, planners and the police as these activities are a concern for us all.

“It’s likely that we will be serving a community protection notice in the near future as complaints continue to be received.”

Residents who experience noise issues are being asked to keep logs detailing times, duration and impact of the disturbance.

Cllr Fradgley said: “I’ve had six or seven residents contact me by phone and email about this on a regular basis. They live in Old Town and New Street, but I’ve also had people stopping me in the street asking me ‘what is that noise?’ A resident said that it isn’t just daytime. It happened at 3am and lasted 20 to 25 minutes on one occasion.”

Ryan Taylor has said he doesn’t plan to change his ways.

The YouTube star spoke to the Herald yesterday, Wednesday (24th November), after we raised residents’ concerns about the noisy cars and motorbikes being driven on his land off Seven Meadows Road, Stratford.

Residents in Old Town want him to stop and allow them to enjoy their homes in peace and quiet, but he’s not repentant.

“I’ll take the cars out whenever I want,” he said. “I’ll still do it. It’s fun and it’s on my property, which I’ve worked hard for, and I’ve had the property since January. Old people don’t like the noise, but they don’t make a connection with what we’re doing, especially if you’re young and successful but they were young once also.”

Part of the issue, according to Ryan, is the generation gap.

On more than one occasion he spoke about being part of a new generation and described the older people as being “concerned and confused” by the noise, but he argues he’s just having fun with his YouTube followers and that’s it.

Ryan also says he takes seriously the work he does helping young people involved with violence. He’s worked in inner-city areas, and he’s keen to get the knife crime message across. He said: “There are kids out there who go around with knives, and I want to help them on a new path. We want them to stop. You don’t get taught skills in school like filling in invoices or the dangers of knife crime or anything like that, so we can help them by inspiring them,” he said.

The former BMX champion added that he’s different now to how he was in his younger days, describing himself as a “responsible and sensible adult”.

“I’m here to make a change, put a smile on people’s faces, have fun and help the new generation be positive what else have they got?” Ryan said.