Madrid's newly built Madring circuit, a €83 million (£71m) track in the city's northeast set to host the inaugural Spanish Grand Prix on 11–13 September, has sparked legal action and public protests after test runs produced noise levels nearly double the legal residential limit of 55 decibels. Residents' group Stop F1 Madrid recorded average levels of 102.7 decibels during Formula Three trials, and environmentalists say construction destroyed a seasonal wetland and felled over 700 trees, worsening the city's already severe urban heat island effect. City and regional authorities have defended the project as an economic boon and promised noise-reduction measures, arguing that Formula One cars are quieter than the test vehicles used.