Mayor's night visit to eastside

Rotorua's mayor says she has a much better idea about noise issues coming from an industrial area in the eastern suburbs after a night-time visit to the area.

On Monday night Steve Chadwick, deputy mayor Dave Donaldson, along with Rotorua Lakes Council staff and compliance teams, observed first-hand the noise concerns being raised regarding the Eastside industrial area and in particular the Lumbercube mill on Vaughan Rd.

Overnight Monday there were a further 91 noise complaints lodged with the council, bringing the total number of complaints received since the mill opened in September to 1408.

The mayor's visit came after about 40 people took to the street outside the mill last week to protest against the noise they say is keeping them awake at night.

Read more:
• More mill noise complaints over the weekend
• Protesters camped outside Eastside mill (+video)

"It was good to join the team and go out and see for myself the hotspots where the predominant number of these concerns are from and to hear the noise myself," Mrs Chadwick said.

"I found it very inconsistent, but it is obviously a growing concern for the community. It is a complex issue and there is not one simple fix."

Mrs Chadwick said she did not hear the "crashes and clatters" reported by residents in the area, but was looking forward to meeting with members of the Eastside Residents Action Group to discuss the problems.

"I didn't stay there all night but now I have a much better understanding of the issues, it doesn't throw up an easy answer."

She said she visited areas on both sides of the mill and places up the hill in Lynmore.

"There was a consistent low level noise but I did not hear lots of bangs and crashes. I really thought I would have heard those," she said.

Mrs Chadwick said the council had almost completed compliance testing and staff had "the noise levels pretty clear and I expect a full report by Friday".

The council is now undertaking a review of its processes around the complaints.