Residents' noise plea heard loud and clear

An Environment Court judge has sided with 30 residents of Sunnybrae in their years of battling to dampen the thump of bass and drums from rock concerts at the North Shore Events Centre.

"Whether or not one happens to be a Deep Purple fan, there is no denying that, playing live, they make a lot of noise," says Judge Craig Thompson in a reserved decision on appeals about the effects on the neighbourhood from live concerts by bands such as Deep Purple.

The British band played the centre in April 2004, recording a noise level of 54 decibels, which was the highest recorded since sound insulation was installed on the building's walls.

The District Plan noise limit for concert noise was 45 decibels.

The residents' association opposed the North Shore City Council decision to vary the centre's resource consent to allow six concerts a year to exceed the District Plan noise limits.

The centre appealed the council's varying the consent to let it defer for five years a requirement to install sound insulation in the centre's ceiling. The centre wished to have the requirement removed altogether because it could not afford it after having the walls insulated.

Judge Thompson said the residents' concern was not mainly about noise at an absolute level.

"Rather the concern is about the low frequency ... thump, thump, thump of the bass and drums of the heavier rock bands.

"People subjected to low frequency noise almost regard it as more intrusive and unpleasant than high frequency noise."

Acoustic experts agreed that if the ceiling had been insulated there would not be a problem with sound exceeding the limit.

Residents felt strongly they were misled by the centre and let down by the council about insulating the ceiling.

Residents' lawyer Martin Williams had said the attempt by the centre's trust board to completely remove the condition requiring insulation was "an abuse of the processes of the court".

The council transferred the ownership of the 1990 building and management responsibilities to the trust in 1998 and supports it with an annual grant of $300,000.

Judge Thompson said that when the council made wall and ceiling insulation a condition of the 1999 consent, it was aware the effects of low-frequency noise on neighbouring homes would be unacceptable.

But the council distanced itself from the operation of the centre and, despite the objectives of its plan, left the residential area to bear the environmental cost of the centre's commercial activities.

Insulation of the walls had made little difference, said the judge, and for a period of four to five hours people put up with vibration and rattling of windows, an inability to sleep, to study, to read or to watch television and migraine headaches for some.

The judge said a compromise proposal by the residents association offered an improvement in low-frequency nuisance noise at the house gate at different stages of the night.

He allowed a resource consent to hold up to six non-complying concerts a year but on the conditions proposed by the residents.

These limited concerts to four hours a day, never on Sundays and an 11pm finish.

The judge would not allow the ceiling insulation to be entirely deleted from the consent, preferring the residents' position of giving the trust board the option of roof insulation as its chosen way to comply.

Resident Colin Heald, who headed the court action on behalf of the association's 30 active members, said noise limits would still exceed the District Plan's limit but they were a fair compromise.

Residents felt the need to compromise because they had been portrayed as anti-events centre and music haters.

"We don't want to see the centre go under, but it has to become a good neighbour and respect our rights as residents to not be disturbed."