1300 noise complaints checked

Press, 29 August 1984, Page 8

1300 noise complaints checked

Christchurch City Council health officers dealt with more than 1300 complaints of 'noise in the first 12 months after the Noise Control Act, 1982, came into force.

The act has been in force since June 1, 1983. A total of 876 complaints of noise on residential premises and 436 on commercial premises were received, the chief health inspector, Mr Paul Millthorpe, told the council’s community services and health committee yesterday. By far the largest number of residential complaints were about radios or stereos (348) and parties (235). Most commercial complaints were about bands playing in commercial premises (189). Other residential complaints centred on animals, burglar alarms, machinery noise, and musical instruments.

Commercial complaints included fans, compressors, and burglar alarms.

Many of the complaints about bands playing at commercial premises concerned bands that played regularly at taverns and hotels, Mr Millthorpe said. Much time had been spent measuring the sound levels of these bands.

More than 85 per cent of the complaints received had come outside normal working hours. A security firm hired to investigate after-hours complaints began work on April 17. It had handled 55 per cent of calls until the end of May. The cost of the service was $1077.

The previous Minister of Health, Mr Malcolm, had indicated that a review of the act would be undertaken after 12 months, and the information could be used to make submissions, Mr Millthorpe said.