Residents fight plan for square's big screen

Ladyhawke entertains the Laneway Festival crowd but one apartment dweller said it was impossible to hold a conversation in his home because of the noise. Photo / Ricahrd Robinson

Apartment dwellers near Aotea Square are fighting an Auckland Council plan to install a $1.65 million big screen for events - and turn up the sound levels.

Their opposition has been fired up by outrage over the "loud and proud" Laneway Festival held at the square on Anniversary Day.

More than 5000 music fans, including Mayor Len Brown, listened and danced to 10 hours of non-stop music.

However, one of the 25,000 residents within earshot said it was impossible to hold a conversation inside his Greys Ave home.

Mr Brown told the audience the square after its $80 million revamp was Auckland's number one public space and would get a lot of use in future.

A month before he took office, the former Auckland City Council sought views on boosting the sound level for when the screen was used in conjunction with events.

The district plan allows for six events a year which do not comply with noise limits of 65 decibels in the square. But such events cannot go for more than six hours.

The council proposes to apply to itself for resource consent to raise this to 85 decibels for up to 45 screen events a year. This could present residents with 52 loud events a year.

CBD Residents Advisory Group chairman Tim Coffey said the group objected to the screen and members sent in objections in their own right.

"We were profoundly disturbed by Laneway and people are concerned that we are going to be subject to this for the next 10 years if the big screen goes in.

"We feel a resource consent for something with so long a life span is an inappropriate way to deal with it.

"This should be done by way of a plan change to the district plan, which we believe the council is trying to avoid."

Yesterday, Auckland Council spokeswoman Angeline Barlow said a resource consent bid to infringe noise controls applying to Aotea Square and the big screen proposal would be open to public submissions.

Independent commissioners would hear a resource consent application for the big screen because the council had a conflicting interest as consenting authority and as an "affected party".

Council city events spokesman Simon Roche said the council was reviewing feedback on the proposal, before applying for resource consent for a yet to be determined number of events a year.

"It is not yet confirmed whether any of these events would be during the Rugby World Cup 2011."

Mr Roche said the public consultation response included 1009 on-line surveys and 527 feedback forms.

"Overall there was more support and agreement than opposition and disagreement among people who completed feedback forms and those who took part in the online survey."

An objector, the Parklane apartments body corporate, wrote to the council saying that it generally supported using Aotea Square as a venue for community events.

However, the big screen proposal was unacceptable because it breached noise limits for the Greys Ave residential precinct and would undermine its amenity value.

"It would have an effect equivalent to building a major sports stadium in close proximity to this residential precinct and giving it the flexibility to host events at any time, day or night," said the letter.

The 2004 District Plan created residential precincts with the aim of encouraging growth of residential neighbourhoods in the city area and it set noise limits for them to achieve a quieter environment.

The Splore-City dance music event scheduled for the square on Friday and Saturday nights will now be held inside Auckland Town Hall.

The organiser's website says the principal reason was feedback from the audience that an 11pm curfew was too restrictive when they wanted to party until 2am.

SOUNDING BOARD

Auckland Council's feedback on a big screen for Aotea Square: 527 feedback forms and 1009 online surveys

* Lifting sound levels to 85 decibels: 58 per cent by feedback form and 48 per cent online support.

* Increased sound levels will increase use of the Square: 59 per cent feedback and 50 per cent online agree while 29 per cent feedback and 23 per cent online disagree.

* A big screen will encourage visits to the central city more often: 47 per cent feedback and 28 per cent online agree and 33 per cent feedback and 41 per cent online disagree.