Seven concerts drew 46 noise complaints from 14 addresses. Sound peaked at 65db against a 75db licence, and Uber was geo-fenced off two Muswell Hill roads.

Alexandra Palace logged 46 noise complaints across the seven outdoor concerts it put on in July, and measured sound did not break its licence on any of them.

The figures are in a report to the Palace’s Statutory Advisory and Consultative Committees, which met on 17 September. The external event licence allows up to 75db. Across the seven events, recorded levels “did not exceed 65db, remaining 10db below the permitted threshold”.

Alexandra Palace Summer Series 2026 in numbers. Sound peaked at 65 decibels against a licence limit of 75 decibels. There were 46 noise complaints in total across seven events, of which 26 gave an address and asked for a visit from the independent monitoring team, representing 14 unique addresses. There were no instances of permitted levels being exceeded. Police were called to site once across the whole run.

Of the 46 complaints, 26 gave an address and asked for a visit from the independent noise monitoring team. Those came from 14 unique addresses. Where a resident did that, the team attended and took readings. The report says there were “no instances of permitted levels being exceeded during any event this year”.

One pattern was new. The report records “an increase in complaints from parts of Muswell Hill that are not usually affected by event sound”, and says the Palace is reviewing whether that was down to the sound system design, the weather or something else.

Uber was geo-fenced off The Avenue and Dukes Avenue

This is the most unusual thing in the report. In the first week of the 2025 series, a Dukes Avenue resident raised concerns about people leaving the site by Gate 11, on The Avenue, and waiting in the area for taxis. Extra security went in for the second week. For 2026, the Palace ran a pilot with Uber.

The app was geo-fenced around The Avenue and Dukes Avenue during event times, so concertgoers could not order an Uber to those addresses. The extra security ran across the full two-week period this time rather than only the second week.

It caught one resident out. Someone complained they could not order an Uber to their own home during the day. The Palace raised it with Uber, since the fence was only meant to run during event times, and no further complaints came in.

Two things worth knowing if you live on either road:

  • Uber was the only operator in the pilot. Other taxi firms were not affected.
  • The Palace says it will “continue to review the approach with Uber” for future events, so the arrangement is not settled.

The W3 diversion was fixed

The W3’s old diversion route during the Alexandra Palace Way closures missed every stop between Wood Green station and Middle Lane N8.

After ward councillors and residents raised it, the Palace worked with Transport for London on an alternative. The revised route ran throughout this year’s Summer Series whenever the road was shut. The report says no bus stop was left entirely unserved, and the W3 missed five stops in total across both directions, not counting the ones on Alexandra Palace Way itself.

Alexandra Palace Way still closes from the day before the first event until 2pm the day after the last one. The report says reopening it in between is not possible because so much of the event infrastructure, including food and bar provision, sits on or beside the road.

Parking suspensions are now in dispute

Haringey Council introduced parking suspensions on The Avenue and Dukes Avenue alongside the road closure, after residents of both roads asked for them.

A resident of The Avenue has since told the Palace the opposite: that the suspension is not needed and takes away resident parking. The Palace’s position is that it makes no difference to running the event either way, and that the measure came in through the council.

The report says further discussion with residents and the council is needed before the next event to settle whether the suspensions stay, change or go.

What else changed for 2026

  • Quieter machinery. Nine of the 11 pieces of plant on site, such as forklifts and scissor lifts, were fitted with white-noise reversing alarms instead of the traditional beeping.
  • A second entrance gate was opened on the west side of the site, so visitors coming from that direction no longer had to walk down Dukes Avenue first.
  • Post-event stewards were sent to streets where residents had previously complained about people leaving events, to discourage gathering outside homes and ask drivers not to idle. The report says residents gave positive feedback on this.
  • Cleaning covered the event site and the areas outside the main park entry and exit points, including Alexandra Palace Way, Dukes Avenue and The Avenue.

The wildflowers, and the pub

Security fencing along the lower road ran beside the wildflower area, and residents raised concerns about the planting. The report says closer inspection found the damage was minimal, but the wildflowers will be reseeded in a different spot for 2027 so the fencing route and the habitat stop competing.

The report is pointedly less warm about The Starting Gate, the pub by Alexandra Palace station. It says the pub was busy before and after each concert with customers using the grassed area opposite, that cleaning up after a neighbouring business’s customers is not the Palace’s responsibility, and that an offer of support has “not yet been meaningfully engaged with”. The report does not record the pub’s side of it.

One police call in seven events

There was a Metropolitan Police presence on every event day, which the report describes as a visible, reassuring presence rather than a response to any specific intelligence. Across the whole run, police were called to site once.

For local context, Home Office street-level data recorded 762 crimes within a mile of central Crouch End in July 2026, the month the concerts ran, the largest single category being 248 anti-social behaviour reports.

The Palace’s separate progress report names the July programme as The Maccabees, Wet Leg, Super Furry Animals, Richard Ashcroft and two nights of The Streets, with Kaleidoscope Festival, headlined by Rudimental, selling out.

One small caution on dates. The Summer Series report gives the final event day, when The Streets played to a sold-out audience, as Saturday 19 July. 19 July 2026 was a Sunday, so either the day or the date is a slip in the paper.

The Piccadilly line was shut through Wood Green on that final day. The report says that pushed demand onto Alexandra Palace station and onto hire bikes, particularly Lime, and that the Palace has raised it with TfL to try to keep planned closures off major event days in future, or at least get earlier warning.

What it means for you

  • If the noise bothered you: complaints are logged and referred to an independent monitoring team, and giving your address is what triggers an actual visit and a reading. Only 26 of the 46 complaints did that this year.
  • If you live on The Avenue or Dukes Avenue: the parking suspension is up for discussion with the council before the next event, and the Uber geo-fence may be changed. Both are worth putting a view in on now rather than next July.
  • If you use the W3: the improved diversion is the one to expect during future closures. We track changes on our Crouch End roadworks and travel page.
  • If hire bikes pile up outside the park gates: the Palace says removal is the operators’ responsibility, not its own, so report them to Lime or Forest directly.

Sources