THE ongoing noise pollution in Durban from concerts such as the one held at the weekend and following the Vodacom Durban July, are an unacceptable situation that continues to plague residents, says Councillor Martin Meyer.
Responding to numerous complaints received at the weekend, Meyer said he had made it clear in the past that he and the people of ward 27 were not against events in the wards and recognised the benefits of these events, but this had to be done taking the residents of the area into consideration.
Residents were fuming after the weekend’s event at People’s Park which kept them awake all night and only ended after 8am on Sunday morning. This comes after they had to endure a Vodacom Durban July after party that went on until around 4am on Monday morning.
Fed up residents are now considering an application against the eThekwini municipality in terms of access to information legislation in an attempt to find out whose party it was and why the SAPS and Metro Police did not shut it down in spite of receiving numerous complaints.
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Commenting on the weekend’s event, resident Helen Clementz said: “Durban residents are shell shocked and have had enough! An event which was given the go ahead by Metro and paid for by us, the ratepayers, kept residents awake all Saturday night. Residents from the beachfront, town, Glenwood, Berea, Morningside, Umgeni and Durban North were affected. These events are becoming more regular. While our infrastructure is crumbling our ratepayers’ money is wasted on such events. It seems our councillors have little power as they are outnumbered and outvoted.”
She said the groundswell of anger and emotion expressed on Facebook showed how dissatisfied ratepayers have become. People running guesthouses also commented that their overseas visitors said they would never return.
“People running the metro need to respond to the public and need to be held accountable. This problem needs a spotlight shone on it and city managers need to be held accountable. A few selfish people affect an entire city. Nowhere else in the world does this occur,” she said.
Meyer said the holding of events needed to be done by taking the residents into consideration. “This includes keeping the sound at reasonable levels, especially the bass, as having it at levels experienced this weekend is unnecessary. Music should be stopped at a reasonable time and midnight needs to be the cut off for concerts in the area. We also want the stage and therefore the sound to be facing toward the sea. This has had a lattice impact on the nice pollution in the past,” he said.
Meyer said he would be engaging with the city manager on this matter and urged residents to write to the city manager (sipho.nzuza@durban.gov.za) to raise their concerns. He urged residents to cc him in the emails so he will have a record when he meets with him.
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