Neighbours at war: 6am CrossFit sessions too loud for Te Awamutu woman

Loud music can motivate some people to exercise, but the noise from her neighbourhood gym is a nightmare says Te Awamutu resident Kerry Bowler.

Waipa District Council and the owner of Functional Fitness however, say the noise is not an issue.

The owner says the music has already been turned down and none of the other neighbours were complaining.

Kerry and her mother live on Park Rd, their house backing on to Rickit Rd, a few doors along from Functional Fitness.

Bowler said she had been woken up at 6am most days by the thudding bass coming from the building during morning CrossFit sessions.

CrossFit is a strength and conditioning programme consisting mainly of a mix of aerobic exercise, body weight exercises, and Olympic weightlifting.

There were 24 Crossfit sessions per week at Functional Fitness (formerly CrossFit Waipa), the first at 6am Monday to Friday. On Saturdays there was an 8.30am session and on Sundays, sessions at 3pm and 4.30pm.

Bowler said she'd had enough of the music played during the workouts.

"The bass gets through the walls and inside the house, even to my bedroom on the far side of the house.

"Our house is fully insulated, double glazed and we don't have windows open at that time of the morning.

"It wakes me up and it's impossible to get back to sleep."

Bowler's first move was to approach the gym.

"I went down and said 'Hey, we live nearby and would you mind turning the bass down in the mornings?'

"I was told 'No, that's not happening - we don't have to'.

"In the summer, it's also very annoying in the evening because we can't sit outside and enjoy dinner on our patio with the thumping bass.

"All I ask is that the bass gets turned down in the morning - just for the one morning session. It's a bit excessive."

Functional Fitness Te Awamutu owner Wayne Bryant said the noise was not an issue.

"We're under our decibel limit, we've been checked out by the council and we are good to go.

"It's a bit ridiculous if you ask me. All those houses behind us are closer than the one person doing the complaining.

"None of the other neighbours are worried - they're all happy as. One of our members actually lives right behind us and her baby's bedroom is right on our boundary and she can hardly hear us."

Bowler was a law student at the University of Waikato and also worked part-time.

"My time to deal with this issue is very restricted," she said. "Moving out of the house isn't really an option. I really need my sleep - what I can get of it."

She also approached Waipa District Council.

"We tried to lodge noise complaints but sometimes they don't bother turning up and other times they do.

"Because of the time of the morning, the complaint has to go to Hamilton and it can take over an hour before someone arrives."

By then, the morning Crossfit session has finished and the gym has emptied out.

"Some months ago, the council did go down and speak to the gym. That had no effect so I talked to them again and found they'd actually gone to another gym - not the one that was causing the issues.

"They did eventually go and speak to the right gym, Functional Fitness Te Awamutu, and they did agree to turn it down.

"For a few weeks that was okay, but then they just carried on with their music as usual."

Waipa District Council confirmed it had received five calls from one complainant regarding the premise since March this year and each complaint was assessed immediately.

Environmental services team leader Karl Tutty said the gym and the complainant's property were in the commercial zone where noise must not exceed 55 decibels.

"The council is required to respond to all noise complaints to assess whether the noise is 'excessive' or 'unreasonable'. Where this is found to be the case, a range of actions can be taken.

"The council has already taken action in this case. Council officers responded to the noise complaints and visited the gym to raise the issue with the correct operator on two occasions.

"Officers have not found the noise to be excessive, so no formal action has been taken. They have judged the noise to be acceptable in the commercial zone."

Bryant said the gym had already turned its music down.

"We've gone out of our way to turn everything down for her and she's still complaining.

"Why stop people doing what they love, just because of one person? We're just here to look after the health and wellbeing of the Te Awamutu community."

"When we took over CrossFit Waipa on July 3 last year there were 17 members. Now we have 93. Obviously something is working.

"I've told the council Kerry can have a free membership - we've done everything to make her happy."