Brian Rudman: War on noise has residents reaching for ear plugs

Auckland City is off to the Environment Court to seek "guidance" in another battle between an inner-city pub and its residential neighbours over late-night noise. The city wants the court to set maximum noise levels for the Empire Tavern in Victoria St and is also seeking an enforcement order so it can prosecute the nightspot if it breaks whatever noise controls the court imposes.

And so, several thousands of ratepayers dollars later - to say nothing of many sleepless nights on the part of the apartment dwellers opposite - some sort of solution may be arrived at. Or not. The on-going battles at the Viaduct Harbour and Western Springs Speedway, to name but two, are reminders of how intractable the war against noise can be. Particularly when the planners fail to come up with any comprehensive battle plan.

If ever there was a disaster waiting to happen, this was it. On one side of the street is the Empire Tavern, which for years has had loud house bands pounding out amplified music from an outdoor entertainment area. Then along comes developers who erect low-cost, high-rise rabbit hutches across the road on land long used as car parking.

As part of its campaign for a vibrant inner city, the council ticked the development through with little obvious thought for the potential environmental health threat the old pub represented for the new inner-city dwellers.

This despite warning signs from the Viaduct Harbour and High St, among other problem interfaces, that unwanted noise was one of the unresolved problems of repopulating the inner-city.

Currently, the council is proposing a change to its district plan which will mean that new CBD residential units have to be insulated to provide a maximum indoor noise level of 35 decibels in every bedroom. If only such an obvious public health requirement had been introduced a decade ago, when the decision to encourage dwellings back into the commercial centre was first made.

The Empire's case is that it's been deafening its patrons on Friday nights/Saturday mornings for years with no complaints and is claiming existing use rights to continue, even though the adjacent carparks are now apartment blocks.

Council noise officers were called in once people moved in about a year ago, and recorded sounds in the mid-50 decibels in bedrooms up until 2am. The generally accepted maximum in residential areas is 45 decibels, which is the level Auckland City wants to impose in this situation.

The World Health Organisation sets its guideline for continuous sound in bedrooms at 30 decibels.

Auckland City's manager for environmental health and licensing, Chris Dee, says they've settled on 45 decibels in this case because that's the permitted noise level allowed by the planners between each apartment. He says it's very loud, "especially at two o'clock in the morning".

To give the pub credit, it has been working at getting the noise down, but Mr Dee wants Environment Court support for this maximum "because the Empire's saying it's too great and they're losing business". The apartment dwellers aren't happy either, saying it's far too noisy.

Talking far too noisy, it's a surprise health inspectors haven't closed the pub down as a hazard to both staff and customers. Mr Dee says average noise levels over a 15 minute period at the bar have been recorded at between 92 and 96 decibels. This is apparently the equivalent of standing next to a welding torch or a heavy truck engine. Pardon? Two bottles of what?

If adults want to work and be entertained in such an environment, that's their look out. But the rest of us deserve protection.

A Department of Environment guideline to noise management in mixed-use environments says "the overriding requirement is for control of noise 'at source' " and that "noisemakers need to recognise the general duty to avoid unreasonable noise by containing as much of the sound as possible".

Putting a roof on the courtyard would be a good start. Cutting off the electricity would be even better. But best would be for the pub operators to simply be good neighbours. Who knows, if they did that, those next door might even become customers.