DANCING NUISANCE

Wairarapa Daily Times, 14 March 1932, Page 6

DANCING NUISANCE

PROTESTS AT DUNEDIN

DUNEDIN, Saturday

On the ground that the values of their residences were depreciated by the nearness of a dance hall, a number of ratepayers at Musselburgh Rise brought objections before the Assessment Court to the rateable values placed on their properties. “This suburb is known as the foot of Sunshine Hill, but judged by the number of bottles found in the precincts at times one is given the impression that it is a ‘moonshine’ locality,” counsel said. “Through the nearness of the hall residents suffered unduly and their properties had depreciated considerably in value.”

The grounds of the objections were: (1) That dances were run at a cheap rate so that elements were brought about the district that previously did not inhabit it; (2) that the season for the hall was a continuous one; (3) that there was a lot of yelling and jumping going on in the hall, and the later a dance was kept up the more the noise increased, and the motor traffic aftci a dance was considerable. Persons having property in the locality felt that it had been depreciated by the advent of a dance hall. \

The Magistrate: “Did they go to the nuisance, or did it come to them?” Counsel: “Unfortunately it came to them. They had been living there peacefully, and then the dance hall came to the vicinity last year. The suburb is recognised as a good middle-class suburb."but it lias been reduced much below that standard by the advent of the hall.”

One ratepayer stated that his sons had collected bottles valued at 4/2 after one dance.

Holding that values had not been actually adversely affected, the Magistrate declined to reduce the assessments. —(P.A.)