Wealthy residents in Chelsea and Sloane Square fear summer return of boy racers

By Owen Sheppard, local democracy reporter

Wealthy residents of Chelsea and Sloane Square fear a return of nuisance boy racers who hurtle around in noisy supercars.

With lockdown lifting and international travel starting to pick up, locals worry their brief respite from deafening Lambos and Bugattis could come to an end.

Kensington and Chelsea Council has sought to tackle the menace with “acoustic cameras”, which are CCTV activated by roaring engines and can be used to aid the dishing out of fines.

The problem came to a head in August 2019 when an Audi Q7 driver totalled his vehicle by veering into a row of parked cars in Moore Street, writing off a McLaren, Porsche and Bentley in the process.

Natalie Acres, a retired headteacher living in Chelsea said: “It’s the sort of noise that rattles you in the middle of the night.

“It has definitely been quieter over the last year but I’m very worried it will start back up again now that lockdown is easing.

“I get the feeling that a lot of the people who were involved in this were from abroad and come during the summer, mainly Middle Eastern countries, but I don’t know for certain.”

Michael Stephen, a commercial law barrister and vice chair of the Chelsea Society, said: “Although the supercars are the most visible, the main problem with noise comes from motorbikes.

“They make a noise all day every day, and make a noise which is much worse.”

Mr Stephen, who has lived in the area since 1975, continued: “The problem has reduced because many of the young people driving these supercars are from abroad, and the Covid restrictions have reduced their numbers, but it hasn’t deterred the motorcyclists who are just as frequent as they have always been.

“The only way to deal with wealthy car owners is to impound their cars but I don’t know if the police have the power to do that.”

Kensington and Chelsea Council said it is looking to reinstall its acoustic cameras this summer, after running a pilot scheme between September and December 2020.

During those four months, the cameras were “triggered” 1,948 times, the council said.

Not every trigger resulted in action being taken, as the camera footage was reviewed each time to see if the noise came from a larger vehicle such as a lorry – which are exempt – or from a car or motorbike.

A total of 144 fixed-penalty notices, or fines were issued, as well as 69 warnings. The fines start at £100 rising to a potential £2,500.

The council would need permission from the Government before being able to levy bigger fines, a spokesperson said.

The council’s lead member for planning, place and environment, councillor Johnny Thalassites said: “Residents made it clear to us that they were sick of drivers using our streets as a racetrack.